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With the Vancouver Olympics Games ending two nights ago, participating athletes from around the world are returning to their pre-Olympic lives.
DU skier Leif Haugen is one of these athletes, who had the honor participate in the games and celebrate with his countrymen when Norway took home silver and bronze medals in the giant slalom.
“I didn’t do that great myself, but it was awesome for my country to win silver and bronze medals,” said Haugen. “It was a weird feeling being there, because I had been dreaming of it for a while, but overall it was a great time.”
Haugen finished in 28th place in last Tuesday’s giant slalom event at Whistler Creekside. He did not finish in Saturday’s slalom event.
On his first run, Haugen placed 32nd after finishing with a run time of 1:19.58.
He went on to improve that time and moved up for spots with a total time of 2:41.78 in both combined races.
“I made a few mistakes that cost me a few seconds,” said Haugen. “But it was good to get a good run in and prove I can race at this level.”
Carlo Janka of Switzerland won the gold medal in the giant slalom event with a time of 2:37.81. He was followed by two of Haugen’s teammates, Kjetil Jansrud and Aksel Lund, who took home the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Though Haugen hoped to do better than his 28th place finish, he still feels the experience helped him.
“This is something I will learn from and in my next Olympics I will be able to get over the nervousness I had,” said Haugen. “I shouldn’t expect to win my first Olympics and because of this [experience] I will be able to relax and show what a competitor I am next time.”
Haugen is relieved that his first Olympic experience is now behind him and is grateful to be a part of something so diverse from what he had previously experienced.
“It was a lot different setting [on Whistler Creekside] than I am used to,” said Haugen. “There were a lot of new countries that weren’t a part of the World Cup tour, which made it culturally very interesting.”
Haugen was a big part of Denver’s skiing success last season that resulted in the school winning its 20th national championship.
He finished second in the giant slalom and third in the slalom at the NCAA Championships, which allowed him to earn All-American First Team Honors for both events.
Despite of his rapid college success, Haugen didn’t slide into the Olympics easily.
“Now that it is behind me I will be able to have a little more fun next time around,” said Haugen.
Overall Haugen is one of a few athletes in the world that was invited to participate in the prestigious events, which he is satisfied to know.
Haugen looks to return back to his pre-Olympic life now, which means once again leading the Pioneers in the NCAA championships on March 10-13 in Steamboat Springs, Colo.
DU looks to defend its consecutive national titles with the help of an Olympic skier.
