Delaney: Leaving Lake Placid
Erin Hamlin and her USA Luge teammates leave Lake Placid later this week, and the athletes will be on the road until Christmas.
The lugers started sliding on the ice at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg track on Oct. 5 and they will wrap up East Coast pre-season training Friday. This weekend they'll head out to Park City, Utah - location of the other U.S. luge track - for more sliding.
In mid-November, the Americans will get training time on the Whistler, British Columbia, Canada track that will host February's Winter Olympics. The FIL World Cup series races begin Nov. 17 in Calgary. The three other fall series races: Nov. 24-29 in Igls, Austria; Dec. 1-6 in Altenberg, Germany; Dec. 8-13 in Lillehammer, Norway.
Official training for the Olympic begins Feb. 10. Men's singles racing is Feb. 13-14, women's singles is Feb. 15-16 and the men's doubles are Feb. 17.
By the time the sliders return to Lake Placid for a Christmas break, Hamlin hopes to have locked up a spot on her second Olympic team. Hamlin is pre-qualified for the Olympic with her World Championship gold medal in February on the Lake Placid track. She can finalize her place with a top 5 finish at any of those fall series races.
Hamlin's best bet to do that is probably in Igls, the site of her career best World Cup series finish. Hamlin was fourth in Igls last year.
"I'm very happy it's in the first half," said Hamlin, who describes the Igls track as slow and not technical.
The level-headed, steady-as-she-goes Hamlin does not feel pressure to secure the Olympic berth ASAP.
"I'd like to," she said. "You have to get the same to qualify for Worlds. It's nice to get it out of the way and concentrate on each race."
The lugers started sliding on the ice at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg track on Oct. 5 and they will wrap up East Coast pre-season training Friday. This weekend they'll head out to Park City, Utah - location of the other U.S. luge track - for more sliding.
In mid-November, the Americans will get training time on the Whistler, British Columbia, Canada track that will host February's Winter Olympics. The FIL World Cup series races begin Nov. 17 in Calgary. The three other fall series races: Nov. 24-29 in Igls, Austria; Dec. 1-6 in Altenberg, Germany; Dec. 8-13 in Lillehammer, Norway.
Official training for the Olympic begins Feb. 10. Men's singles racing is Feb. 13-14, women's singles is Feb. 15-16 and the men's doubles are Feb. 17.
By the time the sliders return to Lake Placid for a Christmas break, Hamlin hopes to have locked up a spot on her second Olympic team. Hamlin is pre-qualified for the Olympic with her World Championship gold medal in February on the Lake Placid track. She can finalize her place with a top 5 finish at any of those fall series races.
Hamlin's best bet to do that is probably in Igls, the site of her career best World Cup series finish. Hamlin was fourth in Igls last year.
"I'm very happy it's in the first half," said Hamlin, who describes the Igls track as slow and not technical.
The level-headed, steady-as-she-goes Hamlin does not feel pressure to secure the Olympic berth ASAP.
"I'd like to," she said. "You have to get the same to qualify for Worlds. It's nice to get it out of the way and concentrate on each race."
posted by Anne Delaney at
8:00 PM
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