Takeaways: Olympic Speedskater's Financial Reality
- BECU is sponsoring 24-year-old Olympic speedskater Cooper McLeod from Washington.
- McLeod will compete in the upcoming 2026 Olympics; he won the World Cup title in 2024.
- Being a BECU member has helped McLeod budget and spend wisely as he competes for the gold.
- Volunteering with his hometown speedskating club is one way McLeod gives back to the community.
- McLeod offers financial tips for young athletes and their parents.
Cooper McLeod started skating around the same age most children begin walking. At just 10 months old, McLeod started roller skating at Skagit Skate in Burlington, Washington, where he lived until he moved to nearby Kirkland at age 12.
"I took a liking to it, and my parents just kept bringing me," McLeod said.
At 3 years old, McLeod joined an in-line speedskating team at a coach's invitation. He moved to the ice at age 8. He remembers how it felt to move fast across the ice as a child — "the way you get to physically express yourself to create speed is so much fun."