Team Canada speed skater Connor Howe preparing for World Cup races in Calgary
Canadian speed skater Connor Howe was on the ice early on Tuesday to train for this weekend's World Cup race at the Olympic Oval in Calgary.
However, if wasn't the only thing the 22-year-old Canmore-born athlete had on his mind.
"I had to run out kind of quick for an exam after skating," he said with a laugh.
In addition to being a long track speed skater for Team Canada, Howe is also a student at the University of Calgary with a major in math and a minor in urban studies.
He says finding time for both the classroom and the ice isn't always easy.
"It can be tough sometimes, balancing exams and school work."
"I'm missing a bit of classes, but when the stuff is online it helps for sure – and I'm just doing two courses per semester, which is pretty manageable."
Lately, Howe has been doing well in his studies and also winning on the ice.
A few weeks back, Howe captured the first World Cup victory of his career, taking gold in the men's 1,500 metres in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
"It felt great," he said.
"I wasn't expecting it. It was something I wasn't really sure I could do, but it all came together and it was an incredible feeling."
Howe skated to the fifth-fastest time ever recorded at the Thialf arena to win the gold by a margin of 0.26 seconds, beating reigning Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands.
"It was a great confidence booster, knowing I can be right up there," he said.
Howe, who says he grew up idolizing Canadian Denny Morrison, has already represented Canada at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
"I want to go four more years," he said. "Getting the podium would be amazing."
The Olympic Oval hosts back-to-back World Cups in Calgary from Dec. 9-11 and Dec. 16-18.
For more information you can visit the University of Calgary's website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.