A weekend of Olympic trial speed skating for Team USA wrapped up on Monday evening after selling out each day of the four-day event at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee.

More than 70 athletes, including 26 women and 46 men, competed in both 500- and 1,500-meter races at the U.S. Speedskating Olympic Trials from Friday, Jan. 2 to Monday, Jan. 5 drawing sellout crowds of 1,700 each day.

Notable local athletes included Jordan Stolz from Kewaskum, Jonathon Tobon from Milwaukee and Piper Yde from Nashota. Stolz, Tobon and Yde skated amongst seasoned Olympic medalists like Erin Jackson, Brittany Bowe, Casey Dawson and Emery Lehman.

Greta Myers, a first time Olympic qualifier, and Lehman qualified on day three of the trials to represent Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics, to be held in Italy from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22. Earlier in the weekend, skaters Jackson, Bowe and Dawson qualified to compete for Team USA.

The trials finished on Monday evening. Team USA will consist of Conor McDermott-Mostowy, Cooper McLeod, Zach Stoppelmoor and Sarah Warren, who will all make their Olympic debut, alongside Ethan Cepuran, Mia Manganello, Giorgia Birkeland, Dawson, Lehman, Bowe, Stolz, Jackson and Myers.

Warren was complimentary of the Pettit, having raced there several times in years past on the World Cup team.

“I always say, Pettit’s a family,” she said. “We’re super thankful for all of Wisconsin for coming on out because it really, really helps.”

This year’s trials were sponsored by Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company, which is currently investing $3 billion in Pleasant Prairie to expand its sterile injectables manufacturing complex.

The Embassy Suites by Hilton Milwaukee Brookfield hotel served as the spectator hotel for the event. A manager for the hotel could not be reached for comment on occupancy or rates during the trials.

The trials were broadcast on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.

This year’s event is one of several high-profile competitions held at the Pettit over the past seven years. Other major competitions held there include the International Skating Union (ISU) Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in 2020, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2022, and the ISU World Cup in 2025.

Its sea-level position and fast ice make the venue an ideal place for national and global events, according to Kevin Butler, director of marketing at the Pettit.

The only other indoor Olympic-level training facility in the country is in Kearns, Utah.

While hosting the trials is not a profitable venture for the Pettit, there is “more than just dollars behind it,” Butler said. “We don’t do it because we make money, we do it because we want to help the sport of speed skating.”

The community support and ticket sales coupled with having successful trials with intense competition and fast times allows these types of events to return year after year, Butler said.

Though options may be limited due to cost and appropriate real estate, the Pettit is considering expanding its capacity to house more attendees at large-scale event like the trials. Butler stated it may be time to look into expanding its seating options for other events.

“In all of the events, especially the trials, the demand for the tickets has been extremely strong,” he said.

The venue installed some temporary bleachers on the far ends of the oval this weekend to accommodate extra fans.