Back to the day job for stars after Olympics

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — For the past two weeks they have been feted as Olympians, but many of the men and women at the Pyeongchang Winter Games will this week return to their jobs and the humdrum of daily life.

For every Lindsey Vonn, the US ski star, there are dozens like Dominik Maerki, the Swiss curler and bronze medalist who will go back to his day job where there are bills to be paid, customers to keep happy and livelihoods to be sustained.

As you would expect when there are nearly 3,000 athletes from across the planet, almost every profession is covered.

But the 27-year-old Maerki, a reserve in the Swiss team that beat Canada on Friday to win bronze, believes he may be the only watchmaker at the Olympics in South Korea.

Maerki studied watchmaking for four years and later moved to Miami for his trade, before opening his own watch and clock repair businesses in the southern US state of Arkansas.

“I dated an American girl, now my wife, and ended up there. I have my own repair store, I fix watches and more complicated things and also repair a lot of clocks like grandfather clocks, wall clocks, kitchen clocks,” said Maerki.

Asked if the customers who visit his shop know that he doubles up as an Olympic curler — and furthermore an Olympic medalist — he smiled: “Some do now, yes.”

There is some crossover between curling and the fiddly mechanics of a watch or clock, said Maerki.

“Watchmakers need to have really good eyes and steady hands — for the release of the rock (in curling), that could help a little bit.”

Polish speed skater Zbigniew Brodka says his profession helps put the pressure of the Olympics into perspective.

The 33-year-old won 1,500-meter gold at Sochi 2014, but when he’s not in his skintight skating suit, Brodka is a firefighter.

“When I went back to work it was very crazy. Even now it often happens that people recognize me on the street. It is a nice feeling,” said Brodka, who was 12th in the 1,500 meters in Pyeongchang.

“Working as a firefighter makes me stronger mentally. I am not that stressed doing sport because I see tragedy and bad things when I am at work.”

The feats of nurses, car mechanics, soldiers, watchmakers and firefighters make for feelgood stories each Olympics.

Joanne Courtney is a Canadian curler who is also a nurse.

Far from missing the adulation and bright lights of the Olympics, the 28-year-old is looking forward to returning to normal.

“It’s nice to go back into work and get my feet back on the ground,” she said.