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Courtney Zablocki
Former Highlands Ranch High athlete Courtney Zablocki has resumed her quest to represent the U.S. at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Recently she earned a bronze medal in the women's singles luge competition at the World Cup event held on the Olympic course in Cesana Pariol, Italy.
Q: When you're approached by men and they ask what you do for a living, what do you say, "I'm a slider"?
Zablocki: To tell you the truth, I wouldn't bring it up. I guess I would say I'm a luge athlete. It's complicated. You know that there's so many questions that will come after that. Sometimes, you just don't want to talk about it.
Q: So what do you say?
Zablocki: I usually say I work at Home Depot. But I don't really look normal -- with muscles and all that type of stuff. People usually notice right off the bat that I do something other than work at Home Depot. It usually gets into an involved conversation -- "You must work out" or something like that.
Q: True or false -- you got your start in luge as a youth by sliding down stairs in a laundry basket.
Zablocki: That actually is very true. My brothers and I were really creative. My oldest brother started it. I wasn't very old -- maybe 5 or 6 years old. I laughed hysterically after he sent me down.
Zablocki speeds down the track during the first run of the women's luge World Cup race in Innsbruck-Igls, on Dec. 12, 2001.(Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press) |
Q: Wasn't that dangerous -- you could've flipped over?
Zablocki: Very. My mom freaked out. But I guess from an early age, I loved speed. I would race my brother down the street; he was on his bike and I'd be on my roller skates. And it was a downhill street. So I guess I've always been kind of a speed demon.
Q: Two brothers. Greg is a triathlete. The other, Paul, is he the sane one in the family?
Zablocki: Paul is a computer programmer-type, so he's very, very smart. My other brother is smart, too. But Paul is more interested in stuff like dodge ball. But he was a swimmer at Highlands Ranch High School and Indiana University.
Q: Your parents, were they athletes in high school and college?
Zablocki: Both were swimmers. And I started down that road. But (swimming) wore me out. It was fun and I liked it. But at the same time it just wasn't something that kept my attention. I don't know what it is about swimming. I mean, I do luge and I go down hills at 80 miles an hour. I'm a thrill-seeker. Swimming just wasn't fulfilling that, you know what I'm saying?
Q: Where did the thrill-seeking in you come from?
Zablocki: I don't know. I don't know if it's the thrill of the speed or the competition that got my attention more. I just love going fast.
Q: Ever driven a race car?
Zablocki: No, I haven't. But I would love to do something like that. My dad and I actually went to the (Denver) Grand Prix last year. It's funny -- once the Indy season is over on the Speed Channel, luge season comes on, and they show some of our races.
Q: You've said your favorite television show is "Seinfeld." Which character fits best fits your personality -- Kramer, Elaine or George Costanza?
Zablocki: I guess I'd have to say Elaine, and not just because she's a woman. She's somewhat normal, but at the same time she's a little bit out there. I guess that would have to be me because sometimes I can be pretty crazy, but then most of the time I'm pretty laid-back. I love to laugh.
Q: You can laugh any time except when you're in the luge, when you're not supposed to move. Wouldn't it be more fun if you could at least listen to music?
Zablocki: Actually, this past season one of my teammates, Preston Griffal, put his iPod into his sled and hooked it up so that he could put on his headphones and plug right in. He goes, "It was really cool for a little while -- and then I hit a wall." The only reason he tried that was because we were at the same track for three weeks and didn't have a race, which is very unusual. What people don't know about luge is, you're in control the entire time. Any minor movement on the sled can cause you to lose thousandths of a second or gain thousandths of a second. That can make or break a race. I know it looks like we don't do anything, but we're trying to keep it aero-dynamic-positioned. You don't want to break the wind at all. You want to keep your body in the same position if possible. At the same time, you're steering your sled the entire time down the hill. And the track is not smooth. It's like trying to keep the car straight while driving on a bumpy road.
Q: Ever think we'll see a professional luge league?
Zablocki: Probably not. It's a lot bigger sport overseas. But I don't ever see it becoming professional. It's not like ice-skating, where you have tours where people can do all this creative stuff and wear funny costumes. There's not much variation for us to do -- unless we wear capes to the starting line or something.
Q: Ever go overseas to luge for fun during the off-season?
Zablocki: I've never done that, just because there's a lot involved. There are other sports that use the tracks. It wouldn't be as easy as showing up at a skating rink. Plus, it's pretty expensive to get over there. And you have to have all your own equipment. I don't have access to my sled after the season. It gets shipped overseas where my coach is, so he can work on it during the summer. So I don't have a sled after the last race of the season.
How do you get started with luging i really want to try it out
Posted by Matt Moore on February 14, 2006 08:07 AM