The sports in the Winter Games, of course, have to be competed on ice or snow, which can make them a bit scary from the start. I’ve seen lugers and downhillers whiz by at 90 m.p.h. Two months ago I visited the US short track speed skaters with 17-inch razor blades strapped to their feet. They wear Kevlar under their Spandex because they crash into each other so much and those blades can cut pretty deep.
I don’t know how the aerialists don’t land on their heads half the time.
But the most terrifying sight I have seen at a Winter Olympics was when I stood at the top of the ski jump. Not only is it a very long way down, but it is really steep. A bit like pointing your skis down the side of Storm King Mountain and heading straight down. No bailing out; no skiing from side to side to temper your speed. Oh, and then when you reach 9W, it kicks you straight out and you fly the rest of the way to the Hudson.
I have attached pictures of it, which do not do it justice. Neither does TV. All those hours of watching ski jumping on ABC’s Wide World of Sports never prepared me for that.
And those who saw my Ligety post two months ago will be happy to know that I made it up the chairlift without incident.
And while I was there, the US women’s team showed up to scope the place out. You would never guess by looking at them that they had nerves of steel. They are pretty small and slender; easier to cheat gravity that way. We have an interactive graphic on Jessica Jerome coming out soon.
I went to the luge track on Thursday, which I had visited last year. We are doing another interactive on the design of it. It has three uphill sections to keep speeds down, a direct response to the death of the luger in Vancouver in 2010. It should be published sometime tonight.
Yesterday, Bedel and I went to the men’s downhill training run. We hiked a bit up the side of the course and found a very nice spot where we could get some photos of the guys flying over the Deer Jump near the bottom of the course. A lovely office to have for the day. We’ll be going back on Sunday for the race. Bode could win this thing. Suits his style.
Tomorrow, we get going for real. Spending the morning at the men’s slopestyle final. Then have another assignment at men’s biathlon. Bet you wish you were here now, hey Annabanushka.
Enjoy the opening ceremony everyone!
Eat at Joe’s 
Leave a Comment