Whanganui speed skater Chase Morpeth sets eyes on busy second half of 2025

Whanganui speed skater Chase Morpeth, who has been based in Germany for the past few years, is preparing for tournaments in Europe and China in 2025.

Whanganui elite speed skater Chase Morpeth has returned to Europe following a break in his hometown, as he eyes up a big year.

The 19-year-old has been based in Geisingen, Germany for three years and has just come off the back of a busy 2024 season of inline speed skating and his first season of speed skating on the ice.

“The ice was an interesting and cool experience,” Morpeth said.

“The feeling is completely different and there are some big variations in the technique.

“Getting the hang of it was quite mentally challenging.”

Morpeth qualified for the Junior World Cup in Italy and, while he finished in the bottom half, he exceeded his expectations in qualifying.

While back in Whanganui, Morpeth visited his old primary school, St Johns Hill School, where he spoke to the senior students.

“It felt really nice to be able to catch up with the family. Being away for such a long time can take quite a toll on the mind,” he said.

“I was able to catch up with a few friends and take a step back from the fulltime sport to get the body and mind recovered.”

Whanganui speed skater Chase Morpeth (left) is gearing up for his second season on the ice.

Morpeth will be competing at inline speed skating events across Europe until July, ahead of the World Games 2025 in China in August and the World Speedskating Championships the following month.

Only the top 15 qualifying countries gain qualification for the World Games, selected from the results at the World Speed Skating Championships 2024.

Morpeth managed to gain New Zealand the 15th spot, pushing out England and Australia for qualification.

He aims to make top 10 at the World Championships in September and progress into his second season on the ice.

“I would love to go to the Olympics one day and ice skating would hopefully be my ticket there,” Morpeth said.

Morpeth said his Whanganui upbringing has helped him build resilience and contributed to his success.

“We’ve got a strong club in Whanganui and up until last year, we had such an amazing coach in Gary Clark, who unfortunately passed away - that hit home pretty hard,” Morpeth said.

“Being in such a great club with a great coach taught me so much, on and off the track, I look back at that now and I’m so grateful to have had that.”