 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
 |
Big hunk of gold around my neck
Updated: Friday April 20, 2001 12:03 PM
Skeleton athlete Chris Soule, 28, is training for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Soule, who won the first round of U.S. national team selection races back in October, is a two-time national champion (1997, 2000) and finished second on the 2000 World Cup circuit. The 6-0 native of Trumbull, Conn. spent time as a stunt player on the film G.I. Jane and currently works as a research assistant. Check out Soule's diary on CNNSI.com as he trains for the Olympics. April 17, 2001
I am with AIT Worldwide Logistics. We are very excited to see you in the
press. Just wanted to send a "Good Luck" out to you, the rest of the
skeleton athletes and the events to come! AIT is behind you all the way!
Thanks Kim, It is great to have your support. I will be on the East Coast in a month. I am planning on making a trip out to see the AIT group in CT.
How has your family helped you grow and do they motivate you because I
heard they are cool.
They are really cool! I have two brothers, one older and one younger. My older brother, Jason, is a chef in Rochester, NY. He is able to run the whole kitchen, that is impressive and motivating. My younger brother, Scott, motivates me by going to the top culinary school in the nation and being the best in his class. He is also pretty creative. My parents motivate me with their inspiring words of wisdom. My father, Gale, just went through surgery and is recovering. He has made a lasting impression on me with his positive attitude. Family is really important to me, so I think of them often and am motivated by all of my family.
How old were you when you first got started in this sport?
How did you get started in your sport?
How were you introduced to this sport?
How old were you when you started skeletoning?
I was living in Lake Placid, NY in 1992. The town has hosted two Olympic Games, and the area is very active with Olympic athletes training for the Games. Many of my neighbors were involved in one sport or another and some of the people that I worked with raced bobsled and skeleton. I built a bobsled with one of my co-workers and another racer. I then tried out for a bobsled team and the skeleton team that season. I had done some mountain bike racing and snowboarding before that, so the speed came naturally to me. It was like nothing that I had ever done before. Going down the hill that fast on a little sled was pretty thrilling. I raced bobsled, but my true passion was for skeleton. At the time there weren't any junior programs, so I was the youngest member to make the U.S. National Skeleton Team at age 19. I was asked to go on the World Cup Tour as a forerunner for the races that year. I was inspired by all the athletes trying to get to the top level of competition, and so I began setting goals to do the same. Nine years later, I am getting closer to my dream of being an Olympian. Anyone can go through one of the schools and learn how to slide. USA Skeleton is now also offering a junior skeleton school for children in high school. The ones who have been able to endure and succeed in the sport are those who can run fast and are able to compete in high stress situations. A lot of track and field athletes do well on the push and we have pilots and other extreme sports athletes who seem to do well at sliding. They now offer a junior skeleton school for children in high school.
What is the weight and size of the skeleton? I have never seen one.
There are sled specifications for weight and size. The maximum weight for a man's sled is 42 Kilo's if the combined weight of the sled and the person is below 115 kilos. The maximum weight for a male's sled if the combined weight is over 115 kilos is 32 kilos. The average size of a sled is approximately 3.5 ft long and 2 ft. wide. There are bumpers on both sides of the sled in the front and back to take some of the shock of hitting a wall. To get more specific information on the specifications of a sled, you can go to the rules section of the Federation de International Bobsleigh et de Taboggan (FIBT) website at: http://www.fibt.com/thesport/rules/rules_index.html
Where can I buy a suit for skeleton, and how do you recommend training?
You should be able to find a suit that is fairly aerodynamic at a ski shop or at any sporting goods store that sells spandex. A lot of athletes have their suits specially made for them when they get to the national team level. Adidas tests and builds the U.S. National Team's speedsuits. During my first year, I wasn't able to afford a suit, so some of the veteran sliders helped me out with speedsuits to race in. Usually there is someone who will have an extra suit that may be for sale or that they may lend out. Weight training and sprint training are always recommended. Most of the athletes have trainers that put together programs for them. You should train to build strength and quickness. Once you have built on them, you should do exercises that are more specific to the sport. Exercises that focus on the hips and legs are what most skeleton athletes focus on, since those are the muscles most used during a push. You should also work on your neck muscles so you are able to handle the 5 G's of force that you get while going through a curve.
Chris, tell your ol' cousin if you will win the Olympic Gold? I've been
following you and your mom updates me ands sends me what she can. I'm very
proud of you.
I am planning on having a big hunk of gold around my neck after the Olympic Games. I have just begun my summer training. It's a lot of work, but I do have to say that I am really enjoying myself, which makes the training a lot easier. Thanks for following.
Being that your body is inches off the ice, describe your most horrific
crash that you ever had?
Well, that is a legitimate question. There are all sorts of things that can happen when you are racing or practicing on the track. Most people get bruises on their shoulders from hitting the walls while driving down the track, but I have seen some pretty nasty accidents. Some people hit their heads on the ice from the G forces of the curves (which get up to 5 G's that is the equivalent of a space shuttle takeoff). During my first year, I was still learning how to navigate the sled, and during one of the races at the end of the season we had selection races. Of course I wanted to go really fast and make the national team. During one of my runs, my right hand came off the handle and while I was putting it back on the sled, it got caught in between the sled and the wall and the pressure split my palm open. I had to get a bunch of stitches, and luckily nothing else had been damaged. How's that for a battle wound.
-- Chris
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
