Being At The Olympics

There are so many highlights a professional career has to offer, and the Olympics suppose to be the number one.

With the Olympics going on, sport comes into the spotlight. What is it, and what makes it so special? Let me tell you, it is not the race itself.

The competition at the Olympics is exactly the same as at World Championships, World Cup races, Nationals, even local races. It is the exact same distance, same duration, same points, rules, you name it. On an international level, you even compete with the same athletes. At least this was the case in my sport, Biathlon. Hockey players might play in a different team than usual and some other sports have some changes as well, but every athlete is supposed to do the exact same thing, they are doing in other competitions as well.

So what's the difference - the expectations, the media, the outfit, the surrounding, some protocols, and the chance to meet athletes of other sports.

I want to keep it down to my experiences, which were different at all four of the Olympics I attended but also had similarities.

My first Olympics were in 2002 in Salt Lake City. It was the “coziest” one for me. We did not stay in the Olympic Village, since the venue was not as close as a resort, which could house lots of people. So we had a small version of an Olympic village, just some xc-skiers and Biathletes. That’s why I call it the cozy once. The stadium was close, used by Biathlon on one side of the building, xc-skiing and nordic combined on the other side. 

The last two days of the Olympics, my team and I had the chance to stay at the Olympic Village in Salt Lake City, which was fun. I remember there was much more going on, a coffee shop i.e. where we actually met even other athletes, like Speed skaters, or Short Trackers. We also could join the Closing Ceremony, since I couldn´t go to the opening. Well, I probably could have, but it would not have been good for the first of my races and I might not have won a gold medal. But with this medal, I was able to check out the medals plaza, which is another very special place at Olympic Games.

The cool thing about the medals plaza is not only that you get your medal, but you also meet all the athletes, who won a medal the same day. It is kind of a backstage meet and greets and you feel like an artist, waiting for your turn on stage.

Here is a little snap shot from Vancouver with the US Nordic Combine Team.

Another special addition is that many nations have their own “houses” at the Olympics. This is the place where the team celebrates its national heroes of the Games, the athletes, who won a medal. Those houses also welcome guests, sponsors, politicians, even journalists. Not everyone is there all the time, but there is an agenda and usually great food with local themes. It is unique to be at the house of your own nation, but I made it into two others. In Vancouver and Sochi, I had the chance to visit the House of Team USA, which I thought was super cool. And when I was a guest in Pyeongchang, I was able to have a quick visit to the Austrian house. Not sure, how this will be in Bejing, but this is what usually is going on at the Olympics as a little extra.

In Turino, Vancouver, and Sochi, I was actually staying at one of the Olympic Villages. Yes, there is more than just one. In Sochi, it was the “Endurance Village”, which was nice, but again a smaller version for Cross Country Skiers and Biathletes. Some Olympic Sponsors were not even present. I assume they thought those endurance athletes are not into fast food at all, which is a good thought. And because of it, there was not the fast-food sponsor, which I personally didn´t miss anyway, but thought this was funny.

In Turino, Martina and I checked out the Olympic Village haircutter. It didn´t turn out very appealing. Good, we were wearing heads most of the time anyway and hair can grow :)

So, there are lots of other things going on at the Olympics and I know there was more than I experienced. But in the end, I went there with the goal to race at my best. The only Opening Ceremony I attended, was the one in Pyeongchang, where I went as a guest, not as an athlete. In Turino I even skipped the Closing Ceremony because the logistics were complicated, owning a rifle. Unfortunately, I could not check out the backstage of the medals plaza in Sochi, but overall I don´t want to complain.

Olympics are something special, but an Olympic career has a lot more great things to offer, than those two weeks every four years.

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