Sagan and Heiden
We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.
-Carl Sagan
This is true, but some fly so insanely well, that once every 4 years they gather the top monarchs & moths together, call it the Olympics, and the whole world watches, amazed that people can: (insert sport name or primary sport goal here, like launching off a vertical ski ramp, doing 5 rotations & 3 somersaults in a row, and sticking the landing).
Some names, some flights, live longer than their allotted day as well.
For an example I say one name: Eric Heiden. The more I know about this sport & the better I get, the more amazing what he did becomes, and the more admirable his life since he hung up the skates. There was a unique soul present in that unique body.
Donald Stewart pointed him out to me, during the Salt Lake world cup, sitting in the stands a few rows below us. I must admit to being waaaay too intimidated to just saunter up and say hello, also he was there as a spectator & team doctor, not to be pestered. There are lots of stories among the current top skaters, about what he is like, as he sometimes travels with the team. But I will let them say it in their own words (near the bottom of this page, I love the golf tournament story from Casey Fitzrandolph)
Filed under: Quotes
You don’t hear this too often towards a man…but nice gams!
Just imagine the power that came out of those legs…incredible!
Oh, one more thing…just read your prior post.
#1…so glad you found your dog, and she’s home safe and warm!
#2…So funny/sad how this thing with Shani/Chad is getting so out of hand. After reading your friends comments about Shani & kids..bot she hit the nail right on the head! This has even filtered down to the local news…a few of us were interviewed today and the reporter asked me what I thought of the “big controversy” surrounding speedskating right now. My answer to him was “It makes for good TV and to get people to tune in. They don’t tell you how at (ST) meets, Shani has kids “dripping” off of him..and he hangs with them with a smile.” Now, to be fair, I don’t know, nor have I ever met Chad..he’s a LT’er, I’m a ST’er…and I’m sure he’s a nice guy. I don’t really know Shani either..just what I witness at ST meets. But I think this has been blown way out of proportion…I think you skate for you, not anyone else. It’s your face in the mirror that you look at at the end of the day.
actually, they know exactly how much power those legs generated
even now, 26 years later, Eric Heiden still holds the record for maximal wattage output ever on the “Wingate” test, its something that has been done repeatedly since the 70’s, and its basically how much does your body generate over a maximal 30 second effort.
Every pro cyclist ever has done this, even with modern sports training & steroids & etc etc, no one has beaten Eric.
oh man, the wingate- I tested low on that one. How did Heiden do?
Eric Heiden was incredibly popular and impressed us skating-mad Norwegians no end. A couple of days before one of the big chamionships a wonderful picture of Eric filled the front page og the national paper “Dagbladet”. There he was on his skates and with only the skimpiest Helly-Hansen underwear on, a big smile and arms held high. The picture was taken at a skating rink in Holmestrand, south of Oslo, with several degrees below freezing. No Norwegian skater would have risked getting a cold just before the races by undressing. Eric did and of course won the competitions.