Checking in with Olympic medalist Erin Pac
Kenny Bruce
Kenny Bruce is a three-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association's George Cunningham Writer of the Year Award. He joined Street & Smith's Sports Group in 2001.
HAMPTON, Ga. – Erin Pac, bronze medal winner in the women’s bobsled, was one of four American medalist winners from last month’s Winter Olympics on hand at Atlanta Motor Speedway Saturday as guests of former Daytona 500 winner Geoffrey Bodine. Bodine’s Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project has helped fund and build sleds for the U.S. team for nearly two decades.
Q. How do you get a bronze medal through an airport?
Pac: “I just put it with my checked luggage with me as I walk through. People always ask, ‘Is that a medal in there?’ and then they want to see it. So I always have to take it out.”
Q. Did it ever dawn on you that, “Hey, this sport is nuts because it’s freezing outside?”
Pac: “No. Growing up in Connecticut, I’m kind of used to the cold. It didn’t really bother me that much. I was used to it.”
Q. There are always rumors of hanky-panky going on in the Olympic Village. Any truth to that?
Pac: “I just got asked that the other day. Supposedly [there is]. I heard some of my teammates say they heard rumors of people in the cold tub … there are condoms everywhere.”
Q. Sure, it’s always “a friend of a friend told me” … So what was it like the first time you went down the mountain in a bobsled?
Pac: "The first time I went down as a brakeman, I was pretty freaked out. I didn’t really understand what had just happened because it’s nothing like anything you’d imagine it would be. I guess you could say it’s kind of like a roller coaster because you go on big curves and it’s kind of fast.
“The first time I went down as a driver, I was like a little kid driving for the first time in a car. That’s what it felt like. It was awesome.”
Q. There was no fear?
Pac: “I’m scared every time. But that’s part of the sport. You just have to trust that you know what you’re doing, your coaches are helping you and you get through it.”
Q. Do you get to meet the President?
Pac: “I think everyone that’s an Olympian gets to meet the President. It’s huge for the sport. With the Germans being on top all the time, the Swiss have been up there forever also. It’s just great for our program. Elana [Meyers] and I are holding on for the women. The women’s team has medaled since 2002 when we came into the sport. We have a gold, silver and bronze now. It was destined, I think, for us to win bronze.
Q. Can a person make a career out of being an Olympian?
Pac: “I have so far. I was a brakeman for four years and a driver for four years. I haven’t decided if I’ll go on to Sochi [Russia, for the 2014 Games]. It’s a big commitment in your life. I don’t know yet; once I make that decision, I’ll either go on for another for more years or … start a whole new life working.”
Q. What would you like to do?
Pac: “I’d like to open up a bistro, a breakfast and lunch place. I’m going to be taking a trip in April to California to scout out where I’d like to open it. We have some connections there. … “
Q. What would be your signature sandwich?
Pac: “It’s going to be an Olympic theme, so each sandwich will definitely … I haven’t fully decided yet. But I have some ideas in mind. Everything would be locally grown and [aimed at] a healthier lifestyle.
“I think the sandwiches would be named after the events rather than athletes.”
Q. Because you don’t want a situation where you name a sandwich after someone such as Tiger Woods and then …?
Pac: “Yeah, that’s right.”
