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Olympic reflections
Three athletes from Central Oregon share their experiences from the Winter Games
By Mark Morical / The Bulletin
Published: March 05. 2010 4:00AM PSTFor one Central Oregon racer, it was the end of an inspiring career.
For another, it may have been just the beginning of many Olympic moments to come.
And for yet another, it was a third Olympics that left him wanting more.
The three athletes from Central Oregon who competed in the just-concluded Vancouver Winter Games each had different experiences, but they all agreed afterward that it was a time in their lives they will not soon forget.
Chris Klug, who grew up in Bend and lives part time in Sisters, closed out his Olympic snowboarding career with a gritty seventh-place finish in the men’s parallel giant slalom.
Tommy Ford, of Bend, showed his Olympic alpine skiing potential with a 26th place finish in the men’s giant slalom.
Torin Koos, a two-year Bend resident, raced in three different cross-country ski events in Vancouver, where his best finish was ninth place with teammate Andy Newell in the men’s team sprint.
Klug, reached earlier this week at home in Aspen, Colo., said he was having “Olympic withdrawals,” after the Games, which ended on Sunday.
“I’m sad it’s over,” said Klug, 37. “I absolutely loved it.”
Klug, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the parallel giant slalom, was just one victory away from racing for another medal. The three-time Olympian won bronze in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
“It’s a little tough when you get that close to winning a medal,” Klug reflected. “But, shoot, I was so happy to be there and go for it. I fought hard and raced with a lot of heart.
“I’m really happy to end it this way, back in the Olympics and in the quarterfinals.”
Klug said he plans to close out his career with World Cup races this month in Italy and Spain, and finally the U.S. National Championships, March 26-27 in Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Since winning his bronze medal less than two years after undergoing a liver transplant in 2000, Klug has become a dedicated spokesman for organ donor awareness.
He made a presentation at Vancouver (British Columbia) General Hospital just days before his race last week, speaking about the importance of organ donation and its impact on his life. At the Olympics’ opening ceremonies, Klug met Vice President Joe Biden and Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama.
“I told her (Jarrett) we need to do more with organ donation, and she seemed receptive,” Klug said.
As Klug now ponders his post-snowboarding career — he said he has “had the best job in the world the past 20 years” — he is looking for more ways to spread his message that organ transplant recipients can live long, healthy and active lives. He wants to be the first transplant recipient to climb Mount Everest and the Seven Summits — the tallest peaks on each of the planet’s seven continents.
“I really love climbing and mountaineering,” Klug said. “But I wouldn’t choose to do that if it wasn’t for the opportunity to trumpet the cause.”
Klug plans to return to Sisters this summer.
Back in Bend earlier this week, Ford discussed his first Winter Olympics experience. Unlike Klug, who was in British Columbia to soak up nearly all two weeks of the Vancouver Games, Ford spent just a few days at the Olympic downhill skiing venue in Whistler due to his training schedule and other races.
He attended the opening ceremonies in Vancouver, but then he caught a plane to Park City, Utah, the next day for training.
“That was just the best way of getting prepared,” Ford explained. “There wasn’t really much training available there (in Whistler).”
Ford arrived in Whistler on Feb. 20 and raced on Feb. 23. He left the next morning for Aspen, Colo., where he competed in NorAm races.
“It was pretty unreal,” Ford said of his Olympics experience. “I didn’t spend much time there, but the time I did spend there was pretty cool.
“The race itself was pretty similar to a World Cup, but there was a little more excitement you could feel.”
Ford posted a solid first run in giant slalom, but he made a mistake near the end of his second run that cost him some valuable time.
“I hooked my shoulder into a gate and lost quite a bit of speed,” Ford said. “I felt they were solid runs, just not to my full potential. It was solid, good skiing. For being in the Olympics, I’m happy with it.”
Ford left Bend on Thursday for the East Coast to train and compete in more races, including the NorAm Cup finals in Vermont and New Hampshire and the U.S. National Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y., later this month. After that he will return to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where he will resume his studies in spring term.
Ford is definitely planning to be back in the Olympics in 2014, when the Winter Games will be staged in Sochi, Russia.
“Next time, I’ll spend more time and check it out, and get more of the experience,” Ford said.
Koos — who has lived the last two years in Bend but was raised in Leavenworth, Wash. — was reached by phone Thursday in Seattle, where he was taking part in a celebration of 2010 Winter Olympians from Washington. When I spoke with him, he said he was on his way to meet Gov. Chris Gregoire after signing autographs for a crowd of what Koos estimated to be about 500 in downtown Seattle.
Koos, 29, said he was proud of his ninth-place finish in the Olympic team sprint.
“It felt like I was really in the (running for a medal) pretty much the whole race,” he said.
Aside from his own performance, Koos said a highlight for him at the Vancouver Games was watching friend and former roommate Bill Demong win a gold medal in nordic combined (ski jumping and cross-country skiing). The two lived together in Park City, Utah, in 2003 and 2004, when Koos was just out of college and Demong was recovering from a head injury he suffered from diving into a shallow pool.
“He didn’t know if he would ever be able to do the sport again,” Koos said. “To see him go from there and now be an Olympic champion is special.”
Koos said he plans to be back in Bend this summer — and back for his fourth Winter Olympics in 2014.
“I’m still chasing the dream, for sure,” Koos said. “I feel like I can have a better performance in Sochi. I’m all in, 100 percent.”
Mark Morical can be reached at 541-383-0318 or at mmorical@bendbulletin.com.
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