Opening day! Olympic begin with training, press conference and Opening Ceremony

February 6 was the big day for the athletes of USA Luge: Openinig Ceremonies!

First up was the final day of men's training. You can keep track of training runs here.

Next was a press conference, which featured most of the team, except for the men. They were busy wrapping up their training session.

Finally, the day ended with a ten minute bus trip from the Olympic Village to Cortina to march in the Opening Ceremonies. The team marched through the crowded village before the Olympic flame was lit.

Here are some quotes from the press conference:

Summer Britcher Overall, I feel really good. My focus is just enjoying these next few days of training and going into the race just grateful to be here with the opportunity to compete on the Olympic stage.
Zack DiGregorio With this track, the top is pretty technical so for all of us going from the women’s start and double’s start. Curve four is going to be a challenge for pretty much every nation and every sled so getting through there smooth will be a big factor but then after you get through there it’s just about finding speed and not so much about being perfect on lines but more being perfect in that position and finding sled setup that gets you through the top but you can also have speed in the bottom.
Ashley Farquharson It’s been super awesome to be in the village and have this experience outside of Covid. Team processing was amazing and the track is in really nice condition so I’m looking forward to the coming days. 
Sophia Kirkby I am so excited! I just arrived to the Olympic village yesterday. When I got off the bus, I had many volunteers and Olympians wanting to do pin trading so I’m really looking forward to what that’s going to look like in the future and looking forward to looking at the ice. 
Ansel Haugsjaa It feels incredible! The idea of having this whole community of people rooting for you hit me when I was on the phone with my dad. He told me, “Yeah this is crazy! I have friends from college calling me who don’t even know what you look like or who have never met you and they are totally freaking out asking me which one you are because they are so excited to watch compete,” and that’s kind of crazy. But that feeling of having all these people rooting for you and support you is really incredible."
Marcus Mueller I’m super excited to be here, the village is awesome and I can’t wait to check out the track and everything and I’m super excited to slide. 

Next up: Women's training (watch live on Peacock) and runs 1 and 2 for the men on Feb. 7.