| Salt Lake City |
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| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
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| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
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| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
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6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
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6 |
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4 |
16 |
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2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
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| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
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| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
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| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
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| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
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Athletes find gold changes entire lives
By Amy Donaldson
Deseret News Olympic specialist
It's the reason the athletes are here, the reason they've put everything in their lives except sports on hold. For most of them, the trying will have to be the reward.
But for a few lucky ones, strain of the grueling workouts, the frustrating disappointments, the constant struggle to make ends meet all fade away in one golden moment.
"It was kind of magical," said Donna Weinbrecht, who won the gold medal in women's moguls in 1992. "It just felt like fate. I was a little ignorant about what effect it would have on me. I never really thought about what it would do to my life; it was just a goal."
The golden goal. Every athlete at these 2002 Winter Olympic Games has lain in bed at night — bodies sore from tough training, long workouts and old injuries — dreaming of wearing the coveted gold medal.
If they didn't, they wouldn't have the stamina to make it this far.
For Eric Bergoust, who won gold in aerials in Nagano in 1998 and missed out on the medals Tuesday, he felt the fulfillment of a lifetime at age of 28.
"I was thinking that this is it," he said of standing on the podium with the Star Spangled Banner playing in the background. "If I live for 75 years, I've already done enough for one lifetime . . . I felt a great sense of accomplishment."
Bergoust's father said they shed some tears as they made the interview rounds immediately after his win. But Bergoust himself said he barely stopped to relish the moment because he plans on trying to win gold in two more Winter Games.
"That's all I remember," he said. "I was pretty tired."
Mogul gold medalist in 1998, Jonny Moseley said everything changed for him the minute he possessed the precious medal.
"You dream about it," he said. "You train so hard. There's so much time to think about it."
All three freestyle gold medalists said winning the Olympics' highest honor has changed their lives in and out of sport in ways they didn't even consider.
"I didn't realize how I'd be taken by the public," Moseley said. "Or how long it would last. That was just the icing on the cake."
Bergoust said his success enabled him to secure sponsorships and earn money so that existence wasn't so harsh. Until he worked his way into the top 10 aerialists in the world, Bergoust had to wait tables and try to drum up interest in himself among equipment sponsors. After the Olympics in 1998, the sponsors approached him and his full-time job became aerials.
"(Another advantage) was being able to influence the way my sport would develop," he said. "People will listen to me now."
Weinbrecht said what she didn't expect was the overnight celebrity status.
"At the store, in a parking lot," she said, "people would point at me. Everybody prepares you for winning. No one prepares you for the choices you have to make afterward."
All three of the champions said everyone from distant relatives to obscure charities came forward hoping to tap into the success of the athletes.
"Right away the phone calls started," she said. "I'm a little more shy, and it was tough to say no . . . If I won again, I'd try to realize I wasn't a super human being. I'd use more of the resources available through the ski team. There is a bit of a game to all of it, and many people use an emotional pull on you."
Moseley said learning to say no is critical if a person plans to stay in competition because the life of a celebrity makes training almost impossible.
"It makes it difficult to be a fierce competitor," said Moseley, who retired for the second time after finishing fourth in the 2002 Games. "You just become complacent because you're living a dream . . . I just try to have a good time."
All three also said that with the stress of success comes unique opportunity.
"It is a great opportunity to reach out to people, to help," Weinbrecht said.
E-MAIL: adonaldson@desnews.com
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February 24, 2002
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