OC Tanner Inspiriation Nomination by Curt Tomasevicz

 

I met Emily Azevedo in 2006. She had joined the women’s bobsled team and was competing on the World Cup circuit in her first year. I had taken the first half of the season off after the 2006 Olympics to finish my graduate degree. So when I met up with the team, Emily had already proven that she had the potential to make the 2010 Olympic team. But she was going to need to gain a lot of strength and learn better push technique to become an Olympic brakeman.

She and I started working with Jon Carlock, a strength and conditioning coach with the USOC. Because we had similar workouts and the same schedules, we started working together in the weight room as well as on the running track. We found that we pushed each other and cheered one another on despite not exactly lifting the same amount of weights or having the same sprint times. I would see her strain and stretch her limits every day and I would have no choice but to do the same. I had been on the National Bobsled Team for three years, but I made my biggest gains during that first off-season training with Emily.

Naturally, because we spent up to 6 hours a day training together, we became great friends, too. Living at the Olympic Training Center, we shared a schedule of meals, sports medicine, and training times. We became—as much as an independent guy like me hates to admit—inseparable.
That next bobsled season was a big year for both of us. It was the second year of the 4 year Olympic cycle and it was important to establish a good position on our respective teams in order to be named to the 2010 Team. That year I was promoted to USA 1 and Emily raced consistently throughout the season and definitely earned the respect of the other girls already on the team. Both accomplishments were considered successful for each of us.

The next three summers in Colorado Springs were some of my best memories while training for bobsled. There were days that I could barely walk back to my dorm room because she and I pushed each other so hard doing squats and sprints. Looking back, those were the days that made the difference for both of us.

On January 17, 2010, the Vancouver Olympic team was announced. I have to admit I was more thrilled when they announced Emily’s name, than when they said my own. I had been to the 2006 Olympics already and I was more secure with my spot on the 2010 team. But Emily had to battle every day that season with three other girls for the final spot on the team. She had zero down time and was always being tested. She burst into tears immediately and I was sure to video record her as she called her parents and family after the announcement.

I walked into the Opening ceremonies next to her and my teammates, one of the happiest days of my life. I was able to win a gold medal at those Olympics and she and her teammate Bree Schaaf surprised the bobsled world by almost winning a medal, finishing 5th.

I have continued to train with Emily for the past Olympic quad as well. We both felt we could prove more in the 2014 Olympics in Russia. Again, every day for the past 4 years, we trained side by side. Some days were good and we would both put up some impressive numbers. But some days weren’t so optimistic and we felt that we wouldn’t reach our goals. Those were the days that we needed each other the most.  I would see her fight and strain to last through workouts. And that would give me the strength to do the same. We encouraged each other through injuries, even surgeries. And we are both stronger and faster now because of it.

So as thrilled as I was when I saw her reaction to making the 2010 team, I was twice as mortified when they didn’t call her name for the 2014 Olympics. As much as I disagree with the decision, the selection committee decided to go with another female athlete. There were tears again this time, but for a different reason. I would be going to Sochi without my training partner and best friend.
It will take time to understand that, despite the end goal not being reached, I don’t regret one day of training with Emily. The sweat, pain, and daily soreness were no match for the fun, laughter, and friendship that we have now. She has pushed me to not only to be the athlete I am (a 3x Olympian) but I have enjoyed each day along the way.

Everyone who has worked with us throughout our careers including teammates, sports med staff, coaches, dining hall staff, and especially Jon will tell you that they probably couldn’t picture one of us without the other. We’ve been compared to a more recent Dan Jansen and Bonnie Blair. When I retire from the sport, I’ll miss those training days with Emily more than anything.

She has truly inspired me daily to be the best I can be at the 2014 Olympics.

 

It Takes Courage

What is courage?  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines courage as ‘the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous.’  There is a large variance of what different people think to be difficult on a daily basis.  For some it takes courage to just get out of the bed in the morning and for others it can be as brave as walking away from one life to start new.   Throughout the past few weeks I have worked hard to be as courageous as possible each and every day. 

For me some tasks have been simple and some have been grand.  I signed up for a social media sight for business professionals despite being a bit social media phobic.  I dusted off my high school soccer cleats, met new teammates and headed out to my first rugby game while still being fairly clueless about the game.  I have picked up the phone and called strangers to get advice to help make decisions on my future career.  All these things have forced me out of my comfort zone and to me that is courage.  

 Literally everything in my life is changing and often time’s simple tasks seem overwhelming and daunting.   I have lived in a Training Center for the last eight and with that I have been fortunate to have prepared meals, cleaned bathroom, and many other amenities that have made my life as easy as possible.  As much as I have enjoyed everything that was offered to me at the Training Center I am now left needing to learn simple task like grocery shopping over again.   I am gradually learning to find excitement in each days new adventure and am working hard to take everything step by step. 

Being courageous can be life changing and I believe will ultimately lead to true happiness and success.  I know that each day I am able to leave my comfort zone will help me to find where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to do.  I challenge you to find your own courage today and do something that is difficult for you and see how it may change your life.

Throughout the past month I have literally traveled around the world including a 30 hour travel ‘day.’  I have been very fortunate that in each place I’ve gone I have had friends to explore with and stay with.  I have a teammate who teases me because I have been able to meet so many people over the years.  She says it is my gift and explains she sees my love for the sport through the friends I have made.  I had never thought of it this way until recently.

Ironically when I was younger my mom seemed to always worry about me and my inability to branch out and make more than one friend.  I remember her sitting me down and having talks with me about how important it was to have more than one close friend.  I constantly disregarded her urge for me to make more friends.  Now, as I reflect back on my years of bobsled and the friends I made I am so thankful that my mom taught me the importance of keeping good people in my life. 
In each place I have gone I not only have had a place to sleep, but also friends who are willing to do anything they can to support me and to be sure I am happy.  My friends on my ‘tour’ have cried with me, eaten with me, skied with me, thrown up in helicopters with me, eaten more with me, snorkeled with me, sipped latte macchiato’s with me and danced until the sun came up with me.  No matter what things I have missed out on throughout the last month I have gained more experiences than I ever thought possible.  I have been told a time or two that it is not about the end point, but more about the journey.  There are many things on my recent journey that I have grown to appreciate (of course puking in a helicopter is an experience I could I have gone without).   No medal can compare to the people I have met and the places I have seen.  

I have been surrounded by some of the most caring people.  I have met complete strangers who are willing to not only accept me and befriend me, but have gone out of their way to include me and protect me.  I will forever be thankful for the generosity I have experienced and the friends I have made.  I guess as it works with everything it always goes back to the lessons we are taught when we are children.  I was taught to respect myself and others and maybe most importantly I learned the necessity of friends.

No Snow Pants Needed

Angels Amongst Us

I believe we have Angels that live amongst us.  We rub shoulders with them and breathe the same air without even knowing it.  This was something I truthfully have never thought about until recently.  I cannot say the past few weeks have been some of the best weeks of my life, but I have had the chance to realize people are put in your life at a certain time for a certain reason.

On January 19^th the decision was made that I would not be competing on the 2014 Olympic Team.  I always knew this was a possibility, but believed I did whatever I could to earn a spot.  The next day I left the team, hopped on a train and made my way to a friend’s house in Switzerland.  I was still in a great deal of shock.  I was confused and questioning if I had made the right decision.  I did not know what to do and where exactly to go.  I was now alone.  I made my way to the train and probably didn’t move for the first hour of the trip.  My mind was racing and I still could not put together everything that had just happened only a few hours before.  I could not feel anything.  I felt numb.  It was something I do not think I have ever felt before and therefore did not have a remedy.  

I was approached by a man on the train who asked if I was okay and if I wanted to get a coffee and talk.  He told me he could see sadness in my eyes and wanted to help.  I was polite, but made it clear I preferred to be left alone.  I continued to sit in the same place for the next hour.  He tried again and now was talking at me as I politely tried to ignore him, but he persisted.   I reluctantly succumbed and went with him to get a coffee.  We sat and chatted for a minute or two as he continued on to tell me a story in his own life.  He could tell I had no interest in sharing my own story with a total stranger but easily shared hardships he had gone through.  He said he tried to start each day with a smile and then moved forward from there. 

The trip was about over so I made my way back to my seat, still feeling like I was just going through the motions to make my next move.  As I got off the train there he was waiting for me.  He took a small key chain out of his pocket and handed it to me.  He gave me a hug and told me that tomorrow would be brighter and that it would bring me luck.  I will never see him again, but on that day and that moment he gave me hope, which made a huge difference.  Someday I would like to return this favor to someone going through a tough time.  I am thankful on that day I met an Angel. 

New Adventures

Skiing with Friends - 2014

My family and I would ski ever spring break when I was younger.  It was some of my most favorite times.  My sister and I would take the week to explore the mountain and find the best possible jumps.  We would pick up speed and fly through the air until we gracefully or sometimes not so gracefully landed on our feet.  I felt fearless and free.

Because I have been involved in competitive sports for so long the last time I went skiing I was when I was a teenager.  I decided it was time to get back on the horse (or skis) and give it a shot.  I was not sure if my brain would still be able to connect with my body and remember how to glide down the powdery slope.  I started off a bit slow and cautious.  I was afraid of falling or making a mistake, but by then end of the day things started to come back to me.  Instead of feeling like a toddler learning how to walk for the first time, I was free again like I was when I was a teenager. 

As we drove home I realized that my day on the slopes parallels with the turns that my life will soon take.  Yes, it will be scary at first and I am sure there will be plenty mistakes, but as time goes by I will find my way ,just as I found my way down the mountain.  The landing may not always be a perfect one, but I will always find a way to land back on my feet.



Azevedo Ski Team- 1994

 

Sunny St. Mortiz

Bree and I looked at each other before our second run in St. Mortiz with confidence and a hint of fear.  We knew that this was it.  It all came down this run.  We had fought all season to do something even our coaches had deemed impossible; earn a third sled at the Olympic Games.  All we had to do was stay on the shiny side of the runners and get down the track and that is just what we did.  It was not the greatest run, but it was enough.  As soon as we crossed the line I welled up and could not hold the tears back.  Bree being the competitor she is instead was concerned about our finish, the down time of the run and what place we were in.  It took her a few minutes to understand she, in fact was going to the Olympic Games.  Later that night after our selection committee met to decide the best three brakemen for the Olympics I was also selected.  The tears kept flowing when I called my parents and sisters and told them the news.  I cannot describe the relief I felt when my name was announced.  It was a long fought season, but something Bree and I always believed we could do.   We decided it was going to happen and we found a way to make it a reality. 

All odds were staked against.  It was a simple David vs. Goliath task.  Bree had to not only complete all the European tracks, which she had never been on, she had to be successful on these tracks.  I also had a major task on my hands of proving that I was the best brakeman for the job.  This was no easy task with the pool of talented athletes that there was to choose from.  Somehow, some way we did it. 

This week I am back in St. Mortiz, Switzerland four years later in a similar situation.  Racing and fighting hard to earn a spot on the 2014 Olympic Team.  I can not help but think about all the memories here in St. Mortiz.  This is the place my career began.  During my first season it was in St. Moritz I pushed Erin Pac to an 8^th place finish in World Championships.  It was my first real bobsled experience and ultimately what got me hooked.   The respect for the sport and the deep rooted history this place exudes only leaves me wanting more each time I am here.  If I have learned one thing from bobsled it is to never give up and being here reminds me of the that sentiment and what it can lead to.  

Bree and I after the Olympic Team was selected in St. Mortiz 2010