Whanganui speedskater Chase Morpeth steps up in the EU

Chase Morpeth (844) competing at the Geisingen International.

Inline speedskater Chase Morpeth of Whanganui has risen to the sport’s elite level as a first-year senior, competing now against the world’s best and exceeding all his expectations.

Morpeth headed back to his base in the small town of Geisingen, Germany on February year to train at Arena Geisingen for the inline season. He is part of Team Arena Geisingen, a group of talented international skaters coached by eight-time world champion, New Zealander Kalon Dobbin.

In April, Morpeth competed in the first of five major European Cup events across the continent this summer, before he travels to the world champs in Italy in September. The Arena Geisingen event attracts over 750 skaters annually from around the globe, many of them current, ex- or future world champions.

Morpeth competed in four races among a field of 152 senior skaters - the Dobbin Sprint Flying 200m, 500m, 10km points and 10km elimination. These races test the skills of each skater over short and long distances.

Chase Morpeth at the Geisingen International.

By the time they reach the senior grade, most skaters have specialised in either the sprints or long-distance events, and while Morpeth competed in all four races, he now considers himself a long-distance skater.

Morpeth finished 48th overall, placing him in the top third of the 144 starters in this first major EU competition as a senior, ahead of his goal of the top half. This pleasing result shows his training regime with Team Arena Geisingen is paying off and, if all goes well, finishing in the top half at the worlds could be a reality.

The following weekend, Morpeth competed at Groß Gerau in another elite-level event, again testing his skills against many of the contestants from the previous week’s racing. He managed 37th in a field of 133 senior men, which again shows he is moving in the right direction.

On May 19, Morpeth competed in the first stage of the Swiss Skate Tour, a marathon held in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, finishing 14th of 77 seniors. Marathons are very demanding, especially when they involve steep hill climbs and hairpin corners like this course.

Many skaters either overshot the sharp corners due to excessive speed or blew at the hill climbs, as marathon events seldom include hills.

Morpeth has settled into his busy lifestyle of training six days a week, up to four times a day. In between training, he prepares his own meals and the next day’s activities. Sunday is a precious and well-deserved day off to relax and recover. In his spare time, Chase is teaching himself Spanish and developing his interest in photography.

Morpeth is living his dream of finally competing alongside skaters he has looked up to for more than 10 years and his goal remains the same - to one day be a world champion.