Russian proposed sled for Mazdzer rebound
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea – The Russians aren’t quite as evil as they’ve been made out to be.
Not all of them, at least.
A Russian luger offered Chris Mazdzer his sled last month, hoping it might help the American break out of his slump.
“He didn’t think he was going to the Olympics, and he wanted to see what someone could do on his sled,” the newly minted silver medalist said Monday.
“It was a legitimate sled,” Mazdzer added. “It wasn’t, ‘We’ll give you a sled and it’s like something that’s 20 years old.’ This was what they were using this year.”
Mazdzer didn’t want to name the Russian — consorting with the Americans is not something one brags about these days — but did say he was at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Russia is something of a dirty word here after the country was banned as punishment for a widespread, statesponsored doping program. The IOC did allow Russian athletes who could prove they were clean to compete, and 168 athletes are here as Olympic Athletes from Russia.
“I guess this goes against every U.S.-Russian stereotype ever,” Mazdzer said before telling the story of the loaner sled.
Before becoming the first American man to win a medal in luge, Mazdzer was going through a terrible slump. He hadn’t been on a podium since the 2015-16 season, and hadn’t cracked the top five in a singles race yet this season.
“Other countries and athletes noticed I wasn’t doing well and they didn’t know why either, and they actually tried to help me out,” he said.
While he was in Latvia for the World Cup there, Jan. 27-28, Mazdzer was told that the Russian wanted to offer up his sled. Mazdzer was shocked — and not simply because of who made the offer.
“Organizations, countries will spend millions of dollars on developing luge sleds. The most bad-ass Flexible Flyers you can imagine,” Mazdzer said. “As an athlete, yeah, you want to hold onto whatever competitive advantage you can get.”
He can only remember one other instance of a luger using someone else’s sled, and that was completely by accident. Italy has two Fischnallers on its team, cousins Dominik and Kevin, and coaches once mixed up their sleds.
“To go cross countries,” Mazdzer said, “it’s never happened.”
Mazdzer took the Russian’s sled for a run in Latvia but said he was too big for it to be a realistic option for him. Still, he was touched by the offer. “I think what it shows is that we do care about each other and there is this human connection we have that crosses countries, crosses cultures,” Mazdzer said, “and sport is an amazing way to accomplish that.”