Entertainment Sports Speed Skater Maame Biney on What Second Olympics Means to Her as She Secures Spot on Team USA Earlier this year, the U.S. short track speed skater told PEOPLE, "My goal at 2022 would just be to be happy and to just do my best" By Lindsay Kimble Lindsay Kimble Lindsay Kimble is a Senior Digital News Editor and the Sports Editor for PEOPLE Digital. She's worked at PEOPLE for over seven years as a writer, reporter and editor across our Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams, covering everything from the Super Bowl to the Met Gala. She's been nominated for the ASME NEXT Awards for Journalists Under 30, and previously wrote for Us Weekly while on staff at Wenner Media. People Editorial Guidelines and Karen Mizoguchi Published on December 20, 2021 12:16 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Maame Biney. Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/International Skating Union via Getty Maame Biney has secured her spot on Team USA for the second time. The athlete will compete in Beijing Olympics in February, after being named to the U.S. short track speed skating team this past weekend. Biney competed in the 2022 short track Olympic trials in Salt Lake City, Utah, last weekend. Seven athletes — five women and two men — were named to the U.S. team at the conclusion of the weekend, after three days of racing. The selected athletes were chosen based on their performance in two 1500m races, two 1000m races, and two 500m races. Biney, 21, competed in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games, placing 14th in the 500m race and 31st in the 1500m. Speaking to PEOPLE earlier this year, Biney said she's not pressuring herself to secure a gold medal this upcoming Games. Shaun White Confirms 2022 Beijing Olympics Will Be His Last: 'It's Hard to Talk About' "I'm a very realistic person and I like to know where I'm at compared to other people and just knowing what I've had to go through to even be here," she explained. "I know that just going to the Olympics a second time would be amazing for me. And so my goal at 2022 would just be to be happy and to just do my best." "And then if I make it to the final, amazing, even if I go to the semifinals that would just be amazing for me," the young athlete continued. Short track speed skating first debuted as a full Olympic sport at the 1992 Winter Games in France. The U.S.' best-known short track speed skater is Apolo Anton Ohno, an eight-time medalist who has been inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Mikaela Shiffrin Says 'the Pressure Is Always There' for Olympic Athletes as She Praises Simone Biles Biney notes that while she is a bit biased, she does believe speed skating is "such a cool sport." "I really do think that short track and long track speed skating, we go so fast on 17-inch blades that are super thin," she explained. "How cool is that? We're going as fast as we can." To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, beginning this February, and the Winter Paralympics, beginning this March, on NBC.