Who am I?
I was born in Greensboro, NC, Not exactly a mecca of winter sports. I originally competed as an inline skater. I won a few state, regional, and national medals, but when I watched the ’94 games I knew exactly what I wanted to do next. So at sixteen, I packed my bags, and off I went. I moved to Calgary Canada, then Milwaukee WI, then Butte MT, and finally I landed in Park City, UT where I have spent most of my time preparing for the 2002 and 2006 winter Olympics.
2006 has turned out to be a pretty ok year. Gold Medalist, World Champion, etc, etc, blah, blah. But what I am most proud of is my performance at my press conference after my 500m victory. It was there that I announced that I would donate my entire Olympic Bonus, $40,000 in total, to Right to Play. RTP is a non governmental humanitarian NGO that uses sport and play in the development of children. I earmarked my money to go to a special group within RTP - the refugee children of Darfur, in Sudan. I have been very vocal in my advocacy of the innocent people who have been driven from their homes, beaten or killed since the travesty started in 2003.
Due to my voicing criticism of something I thought was wrong, I have been asked to work with many groups and recently I had the privilege of speaking at the Save Darfur Rally to Stop Genocide, along with the likes of George Clooney and Barrak Obama.
Joey Cheek
