March this year saw the 2024-25 speed skating season end with Emery Lehman competing at the 2025 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships in Hamar, Norway, where he became World champion for the first time in the Men’s Team Pursuit with his Team USA teammates Casey Dawson and Ethan Cepuran. Having competed at a number of World Cups, Emery won overall Gold in the Team Pursuit this season for the fourth consecutive year, and at the 2025 Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in Hachinohe in November, he retained the title in the Men’s Team Pursuit from the 2024 Championships with Ethan Cepuran and Jordan Stolz, and also at the 2024 Championships, he won an individual Silver in the 1500m event. Emery won Silver at the U.S. Championships in the 1500m race in 2024 and 2025, and he competed at his third Winter Olympics in 2022 in Beijing, winning his first Olympic medal receiving Bronze in the Men’s Team Pursuit with Casey Dawson, Joey Mantia and Ethan Cepuran for USA, having previously competed in 2014 in Sochi and 2018 in PyeongChang. Later this year, Emery will be competing at the U.S. Championships in October, followed by four World Cups ahead of the Olympic trials. Recently, we caught up with Emery who spoke to us about becoming World champion in the Men’s Team Pursuit for USA at this year’s World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships, winning Gold for the fourth consecutive year in the Team Pursuit at this season’s World Cup and competing at the Winter Olympics and winning Bronze at the most recent Games in Beijing.
Your 2024-25 season ended in March at the 2025 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships at the Vikingskipet in Hamar, Norway, where you came away as World champion in the Men’s Team Pursuit for the first time with your Team USA teammates Casey Dawson and Ethan Cepuran; how was it finishing the season as World champions and how did you feel collecting the medal?
This World Championships was a big one for Ethan, Casey and myself because it was our last opportunity to skate together at a World Championships and try and become World champions together. To see our hard work pay off and have a good race come together at the right time was very special – we have tried and come up short at three consecutive World Championships. We have had a lot of success in the team pursuit over the years, but no World Championship medal, so this was definitely a very special moment for us and a highlight of my career.
What were this year’s World Championships like to compete in and how was it racing in both the team and individual competitions?
World Championships this year were in Hamar, which is one of my favourite rinks and places to travel to for competition. I always love skating in front of the Norwegians and it made it all the more special to do that at one of the most iconic rinks in the world. I love the fact that I have a team event and an individual event to look forward to each competition. I put a lot of focus into my individual success in the sport, but also care deeply about the team event.
Can you say about some of the World Cups you’ve competed at recently, which saw you win overall Gold in the Team Pursuit for this season for the fourth consecutive year, and how do you prepare for the World Cups?
Our preparations for the World Cups has remained very similar over the years. Having a success in our Team Pursuit of events is definitely something I do not take for granted. Individually, a lot of the other skaters are stronger than the three of us, but we work so well together that we manage to put up great races against our competitors. My general preparation doesn’t change very much as I try and stay consistent and do things in practice that I can replicate going into competitions.
At the 2025 Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in Hachinohe, which took place in November, you retained your title in the Men’s Team Pursuit from the 2024 Championships with Ethan Cepuran and Jordan Stolz, what did you enjoy most about racing in Hachinohe and how was it winning back-to-back Golds?
I always love going to Japan (and going to new rinks) so going to Hachinohe and winning Gold was very special – especially since we did it with Jordan instead of Casey. Changing our line-up for the Team Pursuit is unusual for us. Jordan did very well for his first Team Pursuit and hopefully down the road he will be able to do some more with us.
Individually, you won Silver at the 2024 Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in the 1500m event, how did you find the experience competing and winning medals at a major Championships in front of a home crowd for Team USA?
Winning the Silver medal at Four Continents in 2024 was very special because my mom, cousin, and a lot of close friends were able to attend. Not to mention Salt Lake City is my new adopted home for skating so to be able to do that here was great. Every time I’m able to reach the podium in any competition, I’m always very pleased and looking towards improving and hopefully making the next podium.
How different do you find competing in the U.S. Championships opposed to international competitions, and what was it like coming away with Silver in the 1500m race in the 2024 and 2025 events?
U.S. Championships and international events have a completely different vibe. Everyone is always hoping to be their best at World Championships, but besides World Championships, World Cups are our next biggest events. The U.S. Championships is really a means to make it to the World Cup, but also a good gauge on how you’re performing leading up to them.
How was your time competing at your third Winter Olympics in 2022 in Beijing and how is it representing Team USA at the Olympic Games?
Someone told me that your next Olympic team is always the hardest one to make. I assumed as I got older and faster it would be easier to make Olympic teams, but in fact, the level of competition just goes up and it never really gets easier. To get to go to three Olympics was incredibly special – every single time I go, I’m always shocked with the accommodations, magnitude of the event, and how well we are treated in the athlete village. Once I am retired, I will truly miss being a top-level athlete.
You won Bronze in the Men’s Team Pursuit with Casey Dawson, Joey Mantia and Ethan Cepuran, how did you stay focused during the Final and what was it like standing on the Olympic podium for the first time?
Bouncing back from a shocking loss in the Semi-Final to then needing to go head-to-head against the Dutch for a medal was definitely an incredibly stressful time. We went through a roller coaster of emotions thinking we had the opportunity to win a Gold, to then pivoting to competing for Bronze against some of the best skaters in the world, to win a Bronze medal was a tall order. Luckily, having my teammates and support staff surrounding me and the others before the Final (which is only 90 minutes after the Semi-Final) was instrumental. I think I spent about 30 minutes after the Semi-Final, throwing up in the bathroom from all the lactic acid from the Semi-Final race. We were very happy to come out with a medal.
How was it attending the opening and closing ceremonies in Beijing, and competing at an Olympics during the coronavirus restrictions?
Like I’ve told a lot of people, I’ve really only had one normal Olympics. Sochi was such high security that we weren’t really doing any activities outside of the village or park – Beijing was total lockdown. The fact that we were still able to hold these events and compete against athletes from all around the world is something I’ll never forget. Oddly enough, I enjoy the fact that I’ve had three completely different experiences at each of my Olympics, it makes each one very memorable for different reason.
Representing the USA at opening and closing ceremonies is such an emotional and cool thing to get to do, opening and closing ceremonies are some of my most memorable moments from each Olympics.
Do you remember how you felt making your Winter Olympic debut in 2014 in Sochi and what are some of your stand-out memories from the 2014 Olympics and the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang?
Making an Olympic team when I was 17 years old put me on cloud nine. I mainly enjoyed the fact that I got to miss a lot of school, but I also got to do really cool things. We did a training camp before the Olympics in Northern Italy in the Dolomites, and after the Games, I competed at the Junior World Championships in Norway. I’ve definitely had a rocky road to get back to being a competitive skater but I frequently think back to what I was able to do at 17 years old and am still in awe of how I did it. Some of my most fond memories in Sochi were getting to meet a lot of the NHL players that were playing at the time (especially a lot of the Chicago Blackhawk players who were quite good at the time). Being a teenager and being surrounded by phenomenal athletes across all different sports was and is one of my favourite parts of competing at the Olympics – the atmosphere when you’re in the village and park is just so different than anything I’ve ever experienced.
Where does your love of speed skating come from and how did you get into it competitively?
My mom introduced me to the sport when I was eight years old, and I fell in love with it almost instantly. What I really love about the sport is the head-to-head competition that goes into it and all the physiological and technical aspects that you can play around with to help you try and go faster. My mom used to drive me all around the Midwest as a kid for competitions, and I think her passion to be willing to do that really motivated me to do my best and be competitive. Between hockey, long track and short track practices and competitions/games, we spent probably around 15-20 hours a week in the car).
Can you tell us about your typical training day and how much has it changed over the years?
A typical day of training is usually two training sessions that last anywhere from an hour-and-a-half to three-and-a-half hours. In between trainings, I usually try and get a nap and some schoolwork done. After our afternoon training, I will do my best to recover and prepare for the next day of training. Our training modalities generally include short track, long track, weights, dry-land (off ice skating position exercises), running, swimming, and biking.
How does competing in the Team Pursuit differ from your individual races and what do you enjoy about racing with Casey, Ethan and Jordan?
Team Pursuit generally is different from other competitions because you don’t get to warm up on the ice before you actually race. It’s also different because an individual race you skate in the outside and inside lane whereas the Team Pursuit is only in the inner lane. Each skater also has to make sure to skate the Team event together and not as three individuals skating at the same time – cohesion between the three of us is instrumental. There are other factors going into the race besides just skating well yourself which makes it fun to do.
How do you like spending your time away from speed skating, and do you have any favourite sports to watch?
I really like watching hockey, football, and cycling. In my free time, I enjoy camping, puzzles, board games with friends, golfing, and doing some yard work to make my home look nice. I also tend to tune in for the playoffs/majors of any sport.
Have you received any advice over your career so far that has stuck with you, and what do you find most rewarding about representing Team USA around the world?
Some of the advice and lessons I’ve learned over the years have come at pretty low moments. The biggest one that I like is “comparison is the thief of joy”. There are plenty of people my age who are far better than me, there are also people who I grew up skating with who no longer have the opportunity to skate. There are people that are younger than me, older than me, and faster than me. I always try and keep in mind that everybody has their own path and I’m happy with the one that I chose. Oftentimes, I think I could’ve had a little more success if I didn’t go to school or had done certain things differently in training. At the end of the day though, I’m happy with the route I took and the friends I made along the way and all the good and the bad that’s happened along the way.
Do you have any competitions coming up that you can tell us about or that you are targeting?
This upcoming season we will have U.S. Championships in October followed by four World Cups before Olympic trials. These are all very big competitions for me as well as other skaters and success at each one will help me build towards the next one. The World Cups will be in Salt Lake City – USA, Calgary – CAN, Hamar – NOR, and Heerenveen – NED.
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