Rodriguez channels perseverance for 2010

For two years following the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, Jennifer Rodriguez thought her speedskating career was over.

Yet this week, Rodriguez begins her final push on her comeback to make the 2010 U.S. Olympic team. Rodriguez, along with the other top American speedskaters, will be competing at the Pettit National Ice Center at the U.S. World Cup/Olympic Qualifying Competition on October 21 to October 25 in Milwaukee. The U.S. Olympic team will be chosen following five World Cup races in November and December.

When Rodriguez takes the ice in Milwaukee, she knows she is not the same skater who after just 17 months of training on the ice finished fourth in the 3,000 meters at the Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games. She's not the speedskater who claimed two bronze medals (1,000 meters, 1,500 meters) at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Nor is she the same athlete who recorded two top-10 finishes at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

J-Rod, as she is commonly called, has transformed into an athlete who is trying to overcome personal battles en route to skating for Team USA at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

But getting back into skating form wasn't the only challenge for Rodriguez. She also had to cope with getting divorced a year ago from four-time Olympic speedskater K.C. Boutiette. She and Boutiette had been married for 6 ½ years, and it was Boutiette who first introduced Rodriguez to speedskating. Both Boutiette and Rodriguez began their careers in inline skating.

In addition, Rodriguez also has been coping with the loss of her mother, Barbara, who died in June after a nearly 16-year battle with breast cancer. Barbara, one of her daughter's staunchest supporters, was 59. Throughout her struggle with cancer, Barbara managed to see her daughter skate at her three Olympic Winter competitions and supported her daughter's comeback.

Rodriguez went home to be with her mother during her final days, and said she only left her bedside to skate and train.

"It was my couple of hours a day where I could release energy and stress," Rodriguez said.

After her mom died, Rodriguez considered ending her skating career. Ultimately, however, she did what she thought her mother would have wanted.

"My mom would have wanted me here, skating," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez credits skating with helping her cope. She said returning to training and her daily routine at the Utah Olympic Oval after her mother's death helped take her mind off of her mom, even though she said not a day goes by where she doesn't cry for the loss of Barbara.

"It's been hard," Rodriguez said. "I actually think skating helped me a lot."

With the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games just months away, Rodriguez is being forced to turn more of her attention to skating. She says she doesn't know if a few months will be enough time to get back into medal contention, but she's trying her best.

The biggest achievement for Rodriguez right now is that she is back on the ice.

After Torino, where the Miami native finished eighth in the 1,500, 10th in the 1,000 and 11th in the 500, Rodriguez decided that she needed a break. She felt that she had over trained leading up to the Games and was burned out.

"I thought if I went home and took a longer break than usual, I thought I'd be ready to go," said Rodriguez, who is the first Cuban American to ever earn a medal at the Olympic Winter Games.

But as she prepared to return to the ice, Rodriguez found that she wasn't yet ready or motivated enough to go back to training.

"I didn't have that drive anymore," she said.

For the next two years the former inline skating star nicknamed "Miami Ice" said she didn't spend much time at the rink. Then, one day, she went to a local skating event at a short track rink. When she stepped on the ice, she said her eyes filled with tears. She knew she needed to skate again.

Rodriguez said it took about three to four months before she made her decision official. And when she did, she was forced to face the reality of what coming back would really mean.

"Two years off in my sport is an eternity," Rodriguez said

She said she lost about 10 pounds during her time off, and needed to build up her skating strength and power.

The first year back, needless to say, was difficult, and her results were mixed. She managed to record some top-10 finishes, including a victory in the 1,000 at a World Cup stop in Nagano in December 2008, but her skating was inconsistent.

"Last year was a rollercoaster," Rodriguez said. "Last year felt like it was my first year skating."

Still, her coach, Ryan Shimabukuro, was impressed with her ability. She might have been away for two years, but she showed a glimmer of her old self.

"I was amazed at how quickly the skating came back," Shimabukuro said.

Shimabukuro said he's specifically working with Rodriguez on her starts and on how she handles the turns. The coach is hoping to keep making progress with Rodriguez so she's in prime form when she needs to be-at the Olympic Winter Games.

Shimabukuro is putting Rodriguez's focus first on the 1,000, with the 1,500 meters her second priority, as well as the team pursuit. Her final focus is the 500 meters, which Shimabukuro says is important because it would be her first event at the Games.

Her coach doesn't think Rodriguez will have a problem making the U.S. Olympic team, but the duo is focused on making sure she has good results when she gets to Vancouver.

When Rodriguez she entered the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, she had a lot of expectations to perform well after she earning two bronze medals four years earlier in Salt Lake City. But this time, she says it will be interesting to see how she does because she has no expectations on her.

This time, it is just about Rodriguez, and her quest for a comeback.

Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc. Mary Motzko is a freelance contributor for teamusa.org. This story was not subject to the approval of the United States Olympic Committee or any National Governing Bodies.