Mazdzer’s silver medal, a first for US, caps years of hard work

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Chris Mazdzer threw a fist in the air, grabbed an American flag from the stands and let out a scream of absolute jubilation.

Not even a month ago, he was at rock bottom. On Sunday night, he made history for USA Luge.

For the first time, the United States has a men’s singles Olympic luge medalist. Mazdzer won silver at the Pyeongchang Games, matching the best finish ever for USA Luge in any event at the Olympics — Americans have been second in doubles twice — and giving the native of Saranac Lake, New York, the sort of moment he has spent half a lifetime chasing.

“It’s 16 years in the making, what you dream about as a young child, and 20 years later you’re finally on the podium,” Mazdzer said. “I still don’t know how to describe it. All I know is that I have my friends and family here celebrating with me and this is validation. Everything I’ve done, all the sacrifices, it’s worth it.”

For the rest of his life, he will be introduced as an Olympic medalist. For the rest of his career, he will know that he can come up big at the biggest moments. For the next few days, he will get to bask in this medal while seeking another in the team relay.

A career that seemed to be going sideways just a few weeks ago is now right back on track.

“I trained with this kid every single day,” said USA Luge teammate Taylor Morris, who was 18th in his Olympic debut. “Day in, day out, he is an animal. And it is paying off. A silver medal, just a few hundredths out from being an Olympic champion. That’s just the mental and physical resiliency that he has, and it just shows that hard work does pay off and dreaming big and never setting a ceiling for yourself, it pays off.”

David Gleirscher of Austria was a surprise winner, finishing his four runs at the Alpensia Sliding Center in 3 minutes, 10.702 seconds for the gold. It was Austria’s first in men’s luge in 50 years, and Gleirscher’s first major international medal ever — he has never even had one on the World Cup circuit. Mazdzer finished in 3:10.728 and Johannes Ludwig of Germany took third in 3:10.932.

Gold-medal favorite and two-time defending champion Felix Loch of Germany was the leader going into the final run, but he skidded his way to fifth.

“I feel sorry for Felix,” Ludwig said, “but I feel happy for me.”

Mazdzer never looked happier after a race, either.

The only other USA Luge singles medal at an Olympics came four years ago, when Erin Hamlin won bronze at the Sochi Games. Mazdzer and Hamlin have been teammates for years, and Mazdzer has spent some offseason time over the years staying with her brother, Ryan, in Utah.

The Hamlins couldn’t have been more thrilled to see Mazdzer’s breakout.

“He’s worked his (butt) off,” Ryan Hamlin said. “It’s time some hardware comes his way.”