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Linder experiences excitement of South Korea’s bobsled silver

Mar 1, 2018 | 11:38 AM

LETHBRIDGE – “You were laughing, you were crying, excited – everything comes out all at once.”

Florian Linder returned to Lethbridge Monday evening, after helping coach the South Korean bobsled teams at the PyeongChang Olympics. That country’s four-man team won silver, the first bobsled medal ever won by South Korea.

“It’s an incredible experience. It’s hard for me to put into words. It’s an honour to work with the Korean team, and they have a great federation, they have great athletes, great coaches, and Korea was very – they hosted very well, and they were very accommodating,” Linder said Thursday, Mar. 1 at Lethbridge College, where he works as in instructor.

“The sense of a team was something you could really feel,” he said. “They brought everyone together, and everyone celebrated as a team and a country, and that was something really special to be a part of.”

His entire time in South Korea was spent working with the teams, training and then competing, so he didn’t get to experience much outside the actual bobsledding. Days were long, with training during the first seven days: up early for the morning schedule, a nap and food in the afternoon, then back to the track to train late.

Initially, there was a letdown for the South Koreans, for whom there had been high-expectations in the two-man event. After failing to medal there, Linder said the medal they went on to win in four-man, in the second-last event of the games, was thought of as a “miracle medal.”

“These Olympics was the first Olympics in which they won medals in sports other than figure skating and speed skating, so it was a big Olympics for Korea as a nation.”

As for the future, Linder said no decision will be made right away on whether he will be back working with the South Korean team. For now, he’s focused on his work at the college for the remainder of the semester.

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