Kirstin Holum Speed Skater Age: 17 Birthplace: Waukesha, Wisconsin Residence: Waukesha, Wisconsin Height & Weight: 5-feet-1, 125 pounds Events: 1,500, 3,000, 5,000 TNT Interview (1 MB Quick Time)

Kirstin Holum was a very little girl growing up in Wisconsin when she first was introduced to the wonders of an Olympic medal.

Her mom, Dianne Holum, was a four-time Olympic medalist and the coach of the legendary Eric Heiden, who won five golds at the 1980 Games in Lake Placid.

"I used to wear them around my neck and jump up and down on the bed. They'd be clanging," says Kirstin of her mom's hardware. "That's what my mom told me. I don't remember."

In Nagano, Kirstin will follow in her mom's tracks, trying to earn something to clang of her own as one of the United States' brightest hopes in speed skating.

The youngest-ever woman to win the World Junior Championships, Kirstin dominated the 1997 U.S. All-Around Championships and showed this season she can compete on the senior international level. She had five top-four finishes in World Cup races and set U.S. records for the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.

"It's very sudden," Kirstin says. "And everything that has been going on is sort of overwhelming."

Kirstin's mom won a silver medal in the 500 meters and a bronze in the 1,000 at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics as a 16-year-old. Then, at the 1972 Sapporo Games, Dianne skated to gold in the 1,500 and silver in the 3,000.

She retired at 21 and coached Heiden to his record-setting performance in 1980, and now is in her daughter's corner

"I think it's harder to be the coach because I tend to be a very nervous person to begin with," says Dianne. "And having it be your own daughter, you get even more nervous. When I was coaching Eric, I used to be on the backstretch and my knees would be shaking ... then add to that, your own child."

Kirstin came back from a bad bout of asthma this season to demolish her American record in the 3,000 twice in two weeks in December. In the second one, at a race in Hamar, Norway, she eclipsed her week-old mark by three seconds in skating to a 4:13.05.

Kirstin started out figure skating but at age 8 asked her mom to let her switch to speed skating.

"I was ready to get her another pair of figure skates," recalls Dianne. "Since she was real little, she was a little machine. She would just go and go."

Kirstin has powerful thighs -- some 21 inches around -- and lives on a grueling training regimen, something her mother did, too. Kirstin's endurance already is the talk of the circuit. She first skated a 3,000 at the age of 11.

She has impressed even the biggest names in the sport, even with her less-than-best performances. At the 1997 World All-Arounds in Nagano she was paired with German world champion Gunda Niemann in the 1,500, placing 10th.

"I skated really bad," says Kirstin. "I saw it on TV that night. They didn't even show me, I was so far behind. I was so nervous."

Said Niemann: "That young American has a bright future. From the beginning, she attacks the ice. Her lap times at the top are very good. Let her mature. She will be much better next time in Nagano."

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!