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Luge in Utah faces an uncertain future
By Brady Snyder
Deseret News Olympic specialist
The future of USA luge at Utah Olympic Park could be better.
The 2005 world championships will be held at the park — that's the biggest race of the year when the Olympics aren't happening. And certainly several national championships as well as some World Cup events will be thrown to the track, which is one of only two luge runs in the United States.
The other is in Lake Placid and by all accounts that track is much better than Utah's because it has more technical and challenging turns. It holds more secrets through its tighter turns, and sliders say it affords American athletes a greater homefield advantage.
So with a better track and more tradition, USA Luge will remain headquartered in Lake Placid, leaving many unanswered questions about the compatibility of Utah's track and American luge.
That's not to say Utah Olympic Park won't help build a Western influence for the sport, which is traditionally dominated by Northeasterners, but how much influence remains to be seen.
Already native Salt Laker Yukio Griffal is America's best young slider. Teaming with his doubles partner, Griffal won every leg of the five-race Junior World Cup circuit last year.
And USA Luge needs some new faces.
While the team took a silver and bronze from Salt Lake's Games — only the third and fourth Olympic medals Yanks have won — America's luge team had the worst production of the three sliding sports. U.S. bobsledders went home with a gold and a bronze and skeleton sliders took two golds and a silver.
The performances makes it harder for the luge team to compete with the other sliding sports for sponsor dollars. Already Verizon Wireless, which has sponsored USA Luge since 1985, has become a sponsor of bobsled and skeleton. Many at Utah Olympic Park questioned whether Verizon would stick with luge if Americans didn't have big performances at Salt Lake's Games.
Uncle Sam did actually have some big performances but not the gold-winning kind that bring sponsor dough.
Adam Heidt, who would've been happy with a top 10, finished fourth, the highest a male American singles slider has even finished in the Winter Games. Becky Wilczak finished fifth — the highest position an American female singles slider has ever taken in the Winter Games.
Then there were the doubles teams, who would've been happy with one medal but won two — a sliver and bronze.
Those two medals might have saved the compact between USA Luge and Verizon, keeping the program on solid ground until the Torino in 2006.
E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com
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February 25, 2002
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