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This week on One on One, meet the American Olympic champion speed skater and human rights activist, Joey Cheek.
 
It might have been hard for this talented athlete from North Carolina, in the southern US, to imagine that he would not only become one of the fastest men on ice – but also an effective campaigner and activist for human rights.

He first started skating at the age of 10, won an Olympic Bronze medal by 2002, and went on to shine in the 2006 Winter Olympics with a gold in the 500 metres and silver in the 1,000 metres.

Cheek was inspired by the activism of fellow speed skating Olympian, Johann Olav Koss, of Norway, who set up Right to Play, and donated his prize money to the humanitarian organisation, encouraging other athletes to make similar pledges – and raising a million dollars.

Horrified by the genocidal scale of killings in the Darfur region of Sudan, Cheek joined rallies and formed Team Darfur to highlight the desperate plight of the people there, using his fame to lobby the US Congress.

His activism led China to revoke his visa to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but that has not stopped this young athlete from standing up for the human rights of others.

This episode of One on One aired from Saturday, May 1, 2009.