KC Boutiette Speed Skater Age: 27 Birthplace: Tacoma, Washington Residence: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Height & Weight: 5-feet-10, 160 pounds Events: 1,500, 5,000 TNT Interview (857k Quick Time)

KC Boutiette -- no periods, please -- will not invoke memories of Dan Jansen, and he's certainly not going to remind anyone of the legendary Eric Heiden.

Still, the free-spirited, pierced and tatooed Boutiette is the United States' best hope for a speed skating medal at the Nagano Olympics.

"The guy has made so much progress it's unbelievable," says U.S. speed skating president Nick Thometz. "He hasn't totally mastered the [slap] skates yet, but he has been improving. I think his best is yet to come."

Boutiette (BOO-tee-ay), a former construction worker turned in-line skater, slides into the Winter Games as a consistent Top 10 skater in international events. And in a sport where a simple slip can be disastrous, that's not too far from being golden.

In the 1997 World All-Around Championships in Nagano, Boutiette placed fourth overall, including second in the 1,500-meter race. He was sixth in a World Cup 1,500 in December, but his time was 1.23 seconds faster than his second place at the worlds.

For a guy who started on borrowed skates just four years ago, his rise has been nothing short of fantastic.

"Some skaters have had a better time with boots this season and their improvement in times has been even better than mine," says Boutiette -- "Booty," to some. "I think I'll be there come February."

Boutiette's speed skating story begins when he hopped a Greyhound bus to Milwaukee for the 1994 Speed Skating Trials. He had already quit his job as a construction worker and was trying to make a living as a professional in-line skater.

"When I rode the bus out, I thought, it can't be that much different, and it is good practice for my in-line career," he says. "I went to Milwaukee not knowing anybody or anything"

Boutiette borrowed a friend's ice skates that were two sizes too small, and later did a little construction, mounting a pair of blades to his in-line boots.

Amazingly, he won the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races in Milwaukee.

At the Games in Lillehammer he could do no better than 39th in the 1,500, but expects to place much better than that in Nagano.

"If you're a kid and you play four of five different sports at once, you never know which one you'll be good at until you've tried one separate sport for a while. {When} I got on the ice, I felt like it was right as soon as I got on it," explains Boutiette. "I picked it up fast, because it was one of those things that I wanted to learn how to do, and after this Olympics I'm not done, I'm going to keep going until Salt Lake and 2002."

Each day during the Olympics, CNN/SI will bring you TNT's Athlete of the Day, a detailed look at the personalities that spice up the Games. Check back every day for a new athlete, and be sure to catch TNT's daily in-depth coverage of the Winter Olympics.

Athletes of the Day

• February 20 - KC Boutiette • February 19 - Alberto Tomba • February 18 - Michelle Kwan • February 17 - Eric Bergoust • February 16 - Todd Lodwick • February 15 - Kirstin Holum • February 14 - Thorpe/Sheer • February 13 - Masahiko Harada • February 12 - Todd Eldredge • February 11 - Elvis Stojko • February 10 - Donna Weinbrecht • February 9 - The Forsbergs • February 8 - Picabo Street • February 7 - Cammi Granato • February 6 - Tommy Moe

Watch TNT's coverage of the Winter Olympics!