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Former Olympian reminisces about racing
2/17/2010 11:18:37 AM
By Hope Brumbach
Splash Editor
During the next few weeks, Tom Rothrock's friends and coworkers will snowball him with Winter Olympic questions.
And for good reason: The Liberty Lake 31-year-old has the inside track on the Games as a former U.S. Olympian.
Eight years ago, Rothrock competed as an alpine skier in the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. For the 2006 Games in Torino, Italy, he missed making the U.S. Ski Team by two points.
After considering a bid for the 2010 Games, Rothrock, also known as "Rotty," decided to retire in spring 2008 to spend more time with his family. He and his wife, Angie, have two children, ages 3 and 1.
"It's the type of sport where having a family doesn't work. You're traveling all the time, not just locally but to Europe," Rothrock said earlier this week.
This year's Winter Games are bittersweet for Rothrock, who hasn't decided if he'll make the 500-mile trek northwest to Whistler, British Columbia, to be a spectator on the sidelines and meet up with his skiing pals. Advertisement
"These next couple weeks are tough on me, because I'd like to be there, racing," he said. "I've thrown around the idea to go and watch, but that would be tough, too."
Submitted photo
Tom and Angie Rothrock live in Liberty Lake with their two children, ages 3 and 1.
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These days, Rothrock is coaching Mt. Spokane's ski team, working part-time in Spokane County Fire District 8 and nearing the end of his bachelor's degree in business at Whitworth University.
His 3-year-old son is zooming down the slopes already - and loving it, Rothrock said.
He still misses the competition, though.
"I don't get that anymore," he said. "Just racing, that's what I lived for when I was racing myself. I am a competitive person, every top athlete is."
Rothrock grew up in Cashmere, Wash., and first hit the slopes on Mission Ridge Ski Area outside Wenatchee at 5 years old. He raced his way to a Junior Olympics Championship victory by age 16.
At the 2002 Winter Games, Rothrock was in 15th place after the first slalom run. In the second run , though, he fell.
"You have to go for top three or nothing," he said. The Salt Lake Games were flavored with a hometown atmosphere, he said, and his entire family came to watch. "I was lucky to compete in those."
Olympic athletes gearing up for the Games face a mental task, Rothrock said.
"A lot of the U.S. people forget about ski racing for three or four years and then the Olympics come and then you get a ton of attention from your town, and media and family," he said. "I enjoyed it. It was a good time to bring everybody together and do my best. It's not like any other event."
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