Ingrid Liepa didn't begin speed skating until the age of 24 when she moved to Calgary from Ottawa to complete her law degree in 1990. She needed an activity to help her deal with the stress of her studies. "The first time I tried speed skating I though it was a crazy sport," she said. "But there was a challenge to learn it." Incredibly, the former figure skater, quickly became the fastest female long distance speed skater in Canadian history. She's won the Canadian all around title, broken two national records and was fifth in the 1,500 at the 1996 world championships. When she broke the national 1,500 mark in late 1995 it was the oldest record in the Canadian books dating back to 1987. Despite a terrible flu, Liepa was Canada's busiest speed skater at the 1994 Olympics racing in the 1,000, 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000. She completed her law studies last year.