BECU Sponsors Local Long-Track Speedskater Cooper McLeod
SEATTLE (Nov. 18, 2024) – BECU, Washington’s largest credit union, sponsors emerging 23-year-old long-track speedskater, Cooper McLeod from Burlington, Washington and Kirkland, Washington.
McLeod’s performances on the World Cup circuit in 2023-2024 included clinching gold, silver and bronze medals in the Team Sprint, helping him secure the World Cup title.
“I’ve been a BECU member for a long time,” said McLeod. “Having this support from BECU helps me on my 18-month journey to achieve my goal of winning a medal at the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy.”
Throughout the 2023-2024 World Cup season, McLeod displayed considerable progress, improving his rankings from 25th to 17th in the 500-meter and from 33rd to 17th in the 1000-meter. His breakthrough moment arrived with a 17th place finish in the 1000-meter at the 2023 World Championships, complemented by a 11th place finish in the 500-meter—marking his best international placements to that date. He is part of the national record team for the men’s Team Sprint at the 2024 World Championships.
Despite narrowly missing Olympic qualification by a mere 0.05 seconds during the 2021-2022 U.S. Olympic team trials, McLeod refused to be deterred. He regrouped, joined the U.S. National Team, and embarked on a journey of rapid strength and technique development.
McLeod recently earned two bronze medals at the U.S. Long Track Speedskating Championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This earned him a spot on Team USA World Cup Team for the fourth time. He will compete in the 500-meter, 1000-meter and Team Sprint events at the ISU 4-Continents Championships in Hachinohe, Japan, ISU World Cup 1 in Nagano, Japan and ISU World Cup 2 in Beijing, China.
“BECU has a proud history of developing partnerships and celebrating our members as they strive to attain their goals in life,” said Jason Rudman, BECU’s executive vice president and chief member and digital experience officer. “We are excited to celebrate Cooper, one of Washington’s own and a BECU member, as he looks to represent the U.S. at the 2026 Winter Olympics.”
Over the coming months, BECU will follow McLeod’s journey on his quest to represent the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics being held in Milan, Italy via social posts and videos for members.
About BECU
BECU is federally insured by NCUA and an Equal Housing Opportunity Lender (Boeing Employees’ Credit Union NMLS ID 490518). With nearly 1.5 million members and $29.9 billion in assets, BECU is the largest not-for-profit credit union in Washington and one of the top four financial cooperatives in the country. As a member-owned credit union, BECU is focused on helping increase the financial well-being of its members and communities through great rates, few fees, community partnerships and financial education. The credit union currently operates more than 60 financial centers, including two in South Carolina. For more information, visit www.becu.org.