Tamara McKinney: "At Sarejevo I had the fastest second run in the Giant slalom, but ended up fourth. I would have loved to have won a medal. But everything happens for a reason. I didn't need to be consoled. Coming in fourth wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to me."

Tiger Shaw: "In 1988 our team trained in Lake Louise (Canada). In order to get to the Super G race in time we had to get up at 4:30 a.m. and drive almost three hours to Nakaskia where the race was held. The experience provided quite a contrast. I remember one moment stopping at a truck stop for juice and milk, and I was surrounded by cowboys and truckers. The next second almost, I was up on the mountain racing down against the best skiers in the world. The Olympics have a lot of significance, but they can also be pretty strange."

Steve Mahre: "The Olympics are a lot about other people's expectations. The medals are symbols. The race is what matters...and how well a person does on that one day. If I hadn't won a medal my life would have still been okay. I would have survived. But making the '76 team, being selected as an 18-year old, was an enjoyable time. Walking into the opening ceremonies was a pretty big moment in my life."

Gunnar Neurisser: "The Olympics meant a lot to me. The most fun was being around all the athletes in other sports. I met these Soviet hockey players. Those guys were just huge; much bigger than any of the other athletes. They were good guys, however, really friendly, until, I suppose, they got on the
ice."

Tomaz Cizman: "I'll never forget my Olympics because the opening ceremony was the same day as my birthday. It all was really a dream come true for me."

Eric Poulsen: "The course, as far as downhills go, wasn't really that fast. It was a technical course with lots of turns and it was difficult to maintain my speed. But that day it was flat light and snowy. On a fairly steep section, which included a compression, there was a left-hand turn. I got inside it and back on my skis...and I got a bit of vertigo because of the light. My fall broke my arm and tore my knee apart."


Tom Kelly: "I chose to stay at the mountain instead of the village. I was able to hook up with the workers from ABC Sports. As a result I was the very first coach on the mountain each day and I was able to pick the best spot for the Americans to train. The other nation's coaches were mystified how I was able to get out there so early. I never let on that an ABC snowcat driver was getting me up there."

Greg Jones: "I'll always remember being in the Olympics. I have my medal at home. I was really sick. I couldn't hike up the slalom course during inspection. I was so parched in the starting gate that my coaches were feeding me oranges. It was a steep, crusty course--a 60-second long course. I needed to finish strong for a chance at medaling. I was amazed I made it through. But I'm competitive by nature."

Jimbo Morgan: "Participating at the Olympics was a dream come true and something no one can ever take away from me. It was such an honor. Walking in the opening ceremonies really hit home. I welled-got tears in my eyes. I saw Tamara recording it with her camcorder and I even saw Nancy and Alex Cushing in the crowd."