Next Up: Portrait of a Real Winner

Kirstin Holum, 17, set a world junior record and finished sixth in her first Olympic speedskating race, the women’s 3,000 meters. But that was only the second-most exciting thing that happened to her Wednesday.

When she signed onto her e-mail before the race, she learned that she had been accepted into the Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore.

Holum also is one of only four finalists for one of the highly respected art school’s merit scholarships.

“It was a pretty emotional day,” said Holum, a senior at Pius XI High in Waukesha, Wis.

Holum announced at the Olympic trials in January that she would retire from the sport after this season, although United States speedskating officials were counting her as a medal contender in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

“They shouldn’t depend on me,” she said at the time. “That’s just stupid. It’s my life.

But she didn’t realize what the Winter Olympics were like.

After a few days in the athletes’ village, she said she began to have second thoughts about her retirement.

“This is really cool,” she said. “In the opening ceremony, just walking to the stadium was so unbelievable, knowing the whole world would be watching.”

But her notice of acceptance to the Maryland Institute of Art reminded her of her commitment to another life.

She specializes in self-portraits.