Chris Mazdzer closed out his Olympic career in Beijing and is reflecting on the incredible opportunity it gave him to connect with other athletes from around the world.
“Yes, I am trying to go as fast as possible, pushing myself and my equipment to the limits under the agreed upon conditions of fair play,” said Mazdzer. “But that is not what makes the Olympics truly special. To me, the Olympics represents the best way to connect our world so that we can understand that no matter the country that you come from we are all more similar than ethnicity, language and social structures suggest.”
Accompanying Mazdzer’s lengthy message was a video filled with photos of the luger posing with a variety of other athletes for selfies. The images include “not only direct competitors who I competed against here in Beijing (sorry to the two athletes I missed because I swore I got a photo with you) but are also good friends. "
“Despite our different backgrounds, language, education, biases and other differentiating factors we have all rallied around competition in the sport of luge and have developed a connection that bridges [borders] and language,” Mazdzer explained. “It has truly been a pleasure getting to know my competitors and learning their unique story.”
Mazdzer, 33, said that his sport has been “an amazing teacher,” and has led him to realize that people from around the world are “all way more similar” than we think. He explained, “Traveling the world since the age of 13 has allowed me to see past ethnicity, nation and social status to find the good in the world, and that is the people who inhabit the earth no matter where they come from. I feel that because of the pandemic and shift in technology that we are becoming ever more isolated from one another. I feel the Olympics is one of the only things that truly brings the entire world together, in person, to celebrate not only athletic success but also humanity and friendship.”
“Thank you for making the last 20 years magical and teaching me just how closely related this world really is,” he concluded.
The luger, who has since returned home, finished in eighth place in the men’s event at the Yanqing track in China last week. In the team relay, the U.S. placed seventh.
“I just wanted to put down a great performance, and I really felt like I did,” Mazdzer toldTeam USAafter the race. “That was pretty sweet. It’s great to just to go for it and finish off with good runs.”
Mazdzer, who broke his foot on a training run in September 2021, also told NBC, “This year was rough, to say the least. Broke my foot on the second day of training at the end of September. Lost all my training, pre-season races were just… man, I can’t describe how difficult this year was. But to put it all together and walk away with eighth place, it’s pretty amazing.”
The father of one crashed on the track during training on the night that the Beijing Olympics opened. His sled hit the roof, crashed down to the opposite wall and he injured his neck and shoulder. Mazdzer had to skip the Opening Ceremony to receive treatment.
“A lot has changed since I was 8 years old, but at the end of the day I feel exactly like the kid that I was in that photo. When I cut out the timing, pressure and expectations of sport and can just focus on what I love to do it’s the feeling of being a kid again. I feel like that kid again,” Mazdzer shared onInstagram, along with a childhood photo.
“This year has been hard, really hard. As per this year, I had a really tough crash on my last training run and am skipping opening ceremonies to try to get as close to 100% that I can for tomorrow’s Olympic race. I honestly haven’t felt this good on the sled in a long time and was having great runs and so much fun before that mistake,” he wrote. “So I’m going into my 4th Olympics doing exactly what I love to do, giving 100% and no matter what happens I know that I have the best support group behind me no matter what! That’s what allows me to go for it even when I’m not feeling my best. That is what allows me to feel like that kid again to just go out there and show the world what I’m capable of.”
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, now, and the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.
source: people.com
