As 37-year-old Olympic speedskater Brittany Bowe and Ocala native preps for her fourth and final Winter Olympics, she’s been soaking it all in.
Bowe’s mantra, she revealed in a Team USA promo video, is “Enjoy the moment.”
And one moment she won’t be forgetting anytime soon is her recent surprise visit from her Ocala-area childhood coach Renee Hildebrand.
The wholesome surprise was captured and shared by NBC Olympics & Paralympics on its social media pages.
When Bowe was asked by an interviewer to name someone from her childhood, outside of her family, who believed in her before the world knew her name, she was quick to answer.
“Renee Hildebrand was my inline skating coach for all of my inline skating years and Renee really laid down the foundation to my success today,” Bowe said, while her former coach patiently waited to pull off the surprise in another room. “She taught me the importance of dedication, hard work and to be really passionate about everything I do.”
Hildebrand, who formerly served as vice president of the Board of Directors for USA Roller Sports and is the former head coach of Team USA-Florida was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
“For more than three decades, Renee Hildebrand has been training Ocala kids to become inline speed skating world champions,” her profile on the Florida Sports Hall of Fame website reads before crediting her for the development of Bowe and fellow Ocala-area Olympians Erin Jackson and Joey Mantia.
Before being surprised by her former coach, Bowe shared the story of Hildebrand taping paper cutouts of hammers inside skaters’ helmets, reminding them “when it’s time to go to the start line, it’s hammer time.”
Then, as Hildebrand rounded the corner from the other room, she asked, “Was it hammer time?”
The successful execution of the surprise caused Bowe’s eyes to well with tears.
“It’s hammer time. One more time,” Bowe told her coach, referring to this being her final Olympics.
Bowe, who has previously announced her plans to retire, is set to compete in the 1,000 meters, 1,500 meters and team pursuit at the the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Meanwhile, fellow Ocala-native Erin Jackson, who was also coached by Hildebrand, is set to appear in the 500 meters, where she’ll look to defend her gold medal, and the 1,000 meters.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Brittany Bowe gets surprise visit from childhood coach Renee Hildebrand
Reporting by Ainslie Lee, Gainesville Sun / Ocala Star-Banner
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
