Person of the Week: Joey Cheek

Feb. 24, 2006 — -- For Olympic speed skater Joey Cheek, it was a magical moment -- winning a gold medal -- that turned into something even more meaningful.

"I knew I had a very brief moment to do something substantial," he said. "Rather than letting them get their traditional Olympic story about a kid from North Carolina who becomes a winter athlete, I was going to take over the story a bit."

That is just what Cheek did. Before anyone could even ask him about his huge margin of victory in the 500 meters, he dropped a bombshell.

"I told them I was going to be donating all of my money to an organization called Right to Play," he said.

The money is the $25,000 bonus given to all gold-medal winning U.S. athletes by the U.S. Olympic Committee. The organization, Right to Play, helps children in war-torn countries to develop and grow through sports. The organization believes kids who learn to play together when they are young will someday live together in peace.

"More than just medicine and food but things to let the children have a chance to play," said Cheek. "And through play, hopefully learn some things about health and supporting each other."

Cheek also won a silver in the 1,000 meters and another $15,000. He donated that money as well. He then challenged corporations to match his gift. In the last week, Right to Play has received more than $300,000. Cheek has asked that his donation fund programs for refugees of the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Cheek started his athletic career in his native North Carolina as a competitive in-line skater. But then he watched Norwegian superstar Johann Olav Koss win three gold medals in the 1994 Olympic Games.That inspired him to switch to speed skating.

Because he couldn't train year-round in North Carolina, at 16 he moved to Canada by himself. For the next 10 years, he trained in Calgary, Alberta, to become World and Olympic Champion.

"Watching him [Koss] skate, he was the guy I wanted to be like," Cheek said. "At the time I had no idea that one day I would go on to win a gold medal, and I would be able to donate money to his organization."