Going for the Gold

Last month my husband and I visited Lake Placid, NY host to the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games. Despite frigid temperatures while we were there, activity in this little town never stopped - ski jumping, hockey, ice skating, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, tobogganing and dog sledding.

Our condo was walking distance to the Olympic Center where in 1932 20-year old figure skater Sonya Henie won a gold medal and local speed skater Jack Shea took home two golds.

It was also here in 1980 when the "miracle on ice" occurred as the US men's hockey team bested the Soviet Union to score a gold. That same year Eric Heiden won five gold medals in speed skating. Amazing!

The interesting thing is that people in Lake Placid talk about both Winter games as if they were just yesterday. During our tour of the museum we found out there are several ways an athlete can qualify for the Olympic games and fractions of a second can mean the difference between representing your country or staying home. Per the Olympic Handbook:

1) An athlete must surpass the qualifying time set by international sports associations like swimming;
2) An athlete must finish among the top finishers in a tournament that also serves as an Olympic qualifier such as archery;
3) an athlete must be ranked among the top 64 in world rankings by the time the Olympics will start such as tennis or beach volleyball;
4) an athlete must finish among the top 4 or 6 in a national Olympic qualifier as in the US or Australia;
5) an athlete can be invited by the IOC as a "wild-card entry." IOC will invite those countries who have no Olympic qualifiers to send their athletes to ensure maximum participation among IOC member countries.

Olympic athletes prepare for years tucking school work around practice schedules and competitions. They are often away from their families for extended periods. I came to sports as an adult - racquetball, snowshoeing and kayaking - so the Olympics were never a possibility. But I love to watch them, and with nearly 1000 athletes competing in Sochi this month there is plenty to see. I have trouble picking a favorite event - how about you?