World-class speed skaters are nothing new to the city of Federal Way. Both J.R. Celski and Apolo Ohno have graced the halls of local high schools before going on to become world champion Olympic medalists.

Zac Sagiao is looking to be the next big name from the area. A graduate from Todd Beamer High School in 2014, he has already begun making strides as a professional speed skater.

“I want to make sure I accomplish everything in inline speed skating first before I even think about the Olympics and ice skating,” Sagiao said. “My goal is to make the junior world team for outdoor, and travel to Worlds this year in Chinese Taipei and medal.”

Sagiao got interested in skating at a young age. A friend’s birthday party in kindergarten was where he first became interested in skating.

“I was not the greatest skater at all when I started,” Sagiao said. “Me and my friend just kept running into each other, but it was a lot of fun.”

Sagiao and many other speed skaters in the area, from 5-year-olds to 55-year-olds, have found a second home at Pattison’s West, where they hold their practices. It is the same rink where Celski and Ohno both practiced at. The rink is ranked first in the entire country for speed skating. They have not lost regionals in 20 years.

Sagiao has been skating for 11 years now. In his time as a speed skater, he won nationals three years in a row between the ages of 14-16. He turned pro as a 17-year-old.

He is a member of the Professional National Speedskating Circuit, which hosts the top speed skaters in the world. It is based in Tacoma at the Tacoma Armory.

“Think of it as the NFL for speed skating,” president and founder of the league Miguel Jose said. “Zac is competing against athletes from everywhere in the country and some from across the world.”

Sagiao says he has noticed the talent level increase since joining the league and has enjoyed the challenge in both practice and at events. He participates in three to five lap sprint events.

“I prefer three laps for sure,” Sagiao said. “I can try to win the start and take off from there. If I win the start I can get a pretty decent gap and while they might get right on me, I can still hold them off.”

While he has dedicated much of his time to speed skating, he is also still focused on school. Sagiao is currently enrolled at Green River Community College and is hoping to get his associate degree in business in the near future.

He has been training hard during the time away from events with an emphasis on increasing his leg strength to power through corners. As the first event fast approaches, he hopes to be at the top of the circuit this year.

“I’m looking to try to win it all,” Sagiao said about the upcoming event on Saturday. “I’ve definitely been doing a lot of training. I just want to win it all and I’ve been preparing myself to do so.”

The first event of the season is at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 23 at the Tacoma Armory. It will feature both sprint and endurance races.