American luger Emily Sweeney is set to compete at her first Olympics since breaking her back, neck and pinky finger in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.
Crashing out on her final run, after losing control on turn 12 of the Alpensia track, Ms Sweeney, 28, described getting “a good amount of air” before entering a corner on the 2,018 metre track ahead of her spectacular crash.
The fastest of the three ice sliding disciplines, ahead of bobsleigh and skeleton, luge is one of the most dangerous Olympic sports – riders go up to speeds of 140 kmph (87 mph) – it is one of only two winter sports measured to a thousandth of a second.
Remarkably, Ms Sweeney was conscious after her crash, and able to get up and walk off the ice following the incident. At the time, she had no idea she had fractured her back and neck.
Professional luge requires an exceptional amount of upper body strength. After the incident, the athlete couldn’t stand for six months.
“At first, I couldn’t sit up for more than 10 minutes without my neck and back going into a full-on spasm,” she said. “Then I started walking on a treadmill where I walked six and a half minutes at first.
“Figuring out how to push my body while also respecting it was tough. Then getting back on a sled that year was also just insanely challenging. Long story short, it took everything.”
Following much rehabilitation and training, Sweeney is due to compete in Beijing on Thursday.
“I've overcome my fear,” said Ms Sweeney ahead of the games. Speaking of the moments before her crash: “As soon as I realised, hey, I have no control of this moment. I knew I had to just ride it out ... it was very slow from my perspective,” she said. She knew all that was left to do was damage control, “OK, lift your head up before I hit,” she said to herself before impact.
The athlete speaks openly of mental health issues following her accident. “I had no drive, no motivation. I couldn't do what I was supposed to be doing, I couldn't train. I didn't know that I was really depressed when I was in it ... it was like being powerless and empty.”
When Ms Sweeney did get back on the ice she had to tackle her fear, “pushing past fear is really challenging”. She talks of the moment when she is ready to go at the handles – that’s when the fear creeps in. “That's when I'm scared,” she said, but explains she is excited to have a chance to win an Olympic medal once again. “Thank you everyone for the support and believing in this crazy dream!” she wrote on Instagram after the USA Olympic luge team was announced a few weeks ago.
Background
This isn't Sweeney’s first time competing after the accident, at the 2018 World Cup in Whistler, Canada, she proved her mettle with a spectacular comeback – she claimed bronze. Then, in 2019, she won another bronze in the women's singles in Winterberg, Germany, at the FIL World Luge Championships. She became junior world luge champion in 2009 World Cup season and won her first senior gold in the sprint race at Winterberg in 2017.
Her sister is former Olympic luger Megan Sweeney, 34, who competed between 2007 and 2010 and inspired her little sister Emily to take up the sport. Growing up the siblings had a stay-at-home dad who encouraged them to do sports.
Emily Sweeney’s boyfriend, Dominik Fischnaller, is also an Olympian luger who competed for Italy in Sochi 2014. Ms Sweeney was born in Portland, Maine, and spent time in Suffield, Connecticut, among other places in the US. She is a member of the US Army, and is in the US Army’s World Class Athlete Program. She has served in the New York Army National Guard.
For breakfast she has three eggs with spinach and cheese and a piece of toast for breakfast each day. Her favourite treat is ice cream. When she’s not training for luge, which takes 11 months of the year, she’s enjoying the lake on her pontoon boat, she also enjoys cooking.
