Arthur Boyer 1/19/18
Chris Mazdzer’s Historical Silver Medal
On Sunday February 11th, in Pyeongchang, Chris Mazdzer won the first ever American medal for men’s singles luge.
Chris Mazdzer, a US professional luger, made history in the Winter Olympics 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea. On Sunday February 11th, Mazdzer won the first ever American medal for men’s singles luge, ending a 54-year drought. Mazdzer’s medal was the sixth of all times for the USA national team in luge. The 29-year-old from Pittsfield, Mass., described his achievement as “realizing something you dreamed as a child is the greatest feeling on Earth.” On his 3rd run, Mazdzer broke the course record to jump into second place. His 4th run sealed the silver medal.
Little less than a month ago, Mazdzer expressed his frustration on social media about his year long struggle: “There comes a point where giving it everything you have and believing in yourself starts to fade away and I am almost to that point” says a downhearted Mazdzer. Following a poor performance in the 2017-18 Luge World Cup that saw him in 18th place, Mazdzer explained how over the past weeks, he lost his speed and was unable to compete with the best athletes. Nonetheless, Mazdzer made a promise to work as hard as possible to improve and intensively prepare for the Olympics. Chris doubted he would be selected for the Olympics, a fear that gave...