This past Friday marked my and Israel's first ever FIBT Skeleton World Cup race. What an amazing experience it was.
Whistler as most of you may know is the site of the sliding sports center from the 2010 Vancouver games. It is one of the most difficult tracks in the world to slide and hands down the fastest in the world. I'm sure most if not all of you can vaguely recall the death of a Luge athlete from Georgia during the first training runs leading up to the games. It is not a track to be taken lightly and one that I was extremely hesitant to even attempt. Skeleton athletes can reach speeds in excess of 85mph while entering the last curve, Curve 16, which is a hairpin, 180 degree turn.
In order to prepare for the most difficult track in the world, I first and foremost made sure to arrive early. I had no intention of beginning from the top of the track, and I arrived 2 weeks before the start of official training (so three weeks before the day of the race) so that I could gradually move up. I started at curve 7, from which I already reached speeds more or less comparable to those I reach from the top in Lake Placid. I quickly learned though that it wasn't so much the speed as the speed combined with the profile of the curves that make this track so difficult.
They truly outdid themselves when they made this track. One of the more technical aspects of sliding is what is known as a "Double Oscillation" curve. This means you go up and come down the wall (due to gravity and the shape of the curve) twice. The only time I had ever encountered these types of curves, there was a single one. On this track they strung two together at one point, meaning that you really had to get the first one right or you were in trouble for the second. Complicate this by going 75mph while doing it and you are in for the most difficult skill set the sport has to offer, in my opinion.
I improved steadily during the weeks of training though. By the end, I had actually come to really enjoy and appreciate the complexities and difficulties which this track offers to the athletes. After being in Whistler I am sure that I am a much better overall slider. I'm actually looking forward to the other tracks now a little more, to see how much I have improved. For those of you that always ask me if I'm still scared I can honestly say that after Whistler nothing in this sport can phase me. Once you go 85mph, going 77 or so on other tracks just seems boring. Yes, I just used the word boring to describe going head first at 77mph.
The other aspect though of the trip was the AMAZING response of the Jewish community in Whistler to the team. I simply cannot overstate how amazing and welcoming the community was. I stayed with 3 different families, and had to turn down requests from many others. It was a huge honor and pleasure to stay with them, and I have made many new friendships which I hope to carry with me for a lifetime.
This trip was amazing. Although I would ultimately finish last in the race, I "pushed" (the first 50m sprint) only .01 (that's one one-hundreth) of a second slower than the 4 way tie for 13th at 4.75. If I had pushed a 4.73 (that's three ONE-HUNDRETHS of a second) faster, I would have been in the Top 10, at a World Cup race. This solidified for me that as far as athleticism goes, I belong amongst the best in the world in the sport. The sliding will come with experience.
During 3 weeks of amazing experiences though, there is one that stands out:
The day before the race, we had a get together with the Jewish community. Roy, a member of the federation who organized this, brought along his friend Dan who was an officer in the Israeli Air Force. He addressed the crowd and told him how special it was for him to see the Israeli flag flying, literally on the other side of the Earth. He looked at me and said, "When I saw the flag flying over the track, as an officer of the IDF, it was so amazing. And to think that YOU, alone, YOU did this. You have no coach, no money, not even a uniform to wear, and YOU brought the Israeli flag here, to this place, on the other side of the world. I cannot thank you enough, or explain to you how much that meant to me."
He started crying; I started crying. It was one of the most powerful moments of my life. I was never so proud and overwhelmed. Dan, if you are reading this, thank you. I hope I do all Israeli's and all Jewish people the world over, proud. I am so proud to represent the Jewish people in this sport. It is truly an honor which I cannot describe.
On to Calgary, on the way to the World Championships in Placid, with just a little bit more of a twinkle of confidence in my eye.
Thanks everyone for the support, it means so much.
-Bradley
No comments:
Post a Comment