As many of you have probably watched the Olympics on the NBC networks the last couple weeks, I bet few of you knew or noticed that two DU graduates were sliding down ice at extreme speeds. They are Mark Grimmette of Muskegon, Mich. and Brian Martin of Palo Alto, Calif., who appeared in their third Olympics.
“Luge is a great sport. There are a lot of complexities that you have to learn, but I enjoy the physics of the sport and I am constantly learning something new,” said Grimmette in a phone interview from Italy.
Singles luge and doubles luge were introduced during the 1964 Olympic
Winter Games held in Innsbruck, Austria. The sport dates back to the 1400s and
was originally introduced during the first international luge competition in Davos, Switzerland in 1883.
Grimmette grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich. and at the age of 14 a luge course was built near his house and he began his career.
After school Grimmette would train for a few hours and on the weekends he would spend a full day at the course.
The three-time Olympian and his luge partner Brian Martin chose DU because the quarter system worked well with the luge training and competition schedule.
The two became friends in luge and decided to room together during their days at Denver.
“We are both pretty laid back and became good friends right away, and have many of the same interests and hobbies and both enjoy the outdoors and just had a natural friendship,” said Grimmette.
While attending DU, the two mostly did dry land training and during the winter break would go home and practice on the ice.
Grimmette, 35, and Martin, 32, just finished their third Olympics in Italy with a disappointing finish, but already earned a bronze in their first Olympics in Nagano, Japan and silver in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
The two were hoping to complete the sweep with a gold medal this year, in what is possibly their final Olympics.
The pair crashed in turn 14 on their first of what was to be two runs down the $19 million Olympic course. But both walked away uninjured, but disappointed.
“It was very disappointing to have a finish like we did. We have had a rough season and were hoping to have a break away here in Italy, but race day came and we crashed,” said Grimmette.
Believe it or not luge is a profession and the two race in numerous events throughout the year, including many World and Challenge Cup events held in such locations as Germany, Latvia, Italy, New York and Austria.
“The average income for a luge athlete varies depending upon their success.
Generally, a luge athlete will earn podium money from the Olympic Committee, USA Luge, and the International Luge Federation.The
amount of money is based upon the result,” explains Jon Lundin, USA Luge media and public relations manager.
“If an athlete does have a good year, they can make a
decent living, though not nearly what a professional baseball or basketball
player will make.”
“It is an incredible feeling to be able to participate in the Olympics and represent the USA and it makes your hair stand up as you walk in during the opening ceremonies,” said Grimmette.
During the Olympics Martin and Grimmette would complete light exercises, sliding at the track and team activities prior to their competition.
“The idea during the games is to not physically wear out the athlete. It’s rather to maintain the physical conditioning,” said Lundin.
The off-season is a totally different story though, as the athletes can train for up to eight hours a day, performing weight lifting exercises, cardio-activities, team cross training and most importantly sliding.
The international luge season runs from early November to the middle of March when the season concludes with the World Championships.
This year due to the Olympics, the season will end at the conclusion of the winter games.
Most luge athletes will train and compete for 11 of the 12 months of the year.
Luge is clearly no easy sport and Martin and Grimmette have represented the University of Denver well with over 59 career international medals and most importantly two Olympic medals.
Although they did not finish the way they would have liked to, they participated on the U.S. team.
Grimmette is currently in Turin, Italy enjoying the Winter Games and attending such events as the super-g and touring around the country with his fiancée.
When asked about his and Martin’s future in the sport Grimmette said, “right now I am just going to enjoy the Olympics and make those types of decisions later,” he said.
Martin and Grimmette’s professional and Olympic careers might be over, but they have pioneered USA luging and helped America learn a ton about the sport in the process.
