It isn't the glory that makes people become luge racers, say Zianibeth Shattuck-Owen and Jon Owen. Heaven knows, in the U.S., the luge ranks right up there with curling and synchronized swimming on the public awareness scale.
So what does make someone want to become a luge racer?"Immaturity," says Zianibeth.
"The Peter Pan syndrome," says her husband, Jon.
Whatever the reason, the Owens are in Salt Lake, working out at the University of Utah and the Cottonwood Recreation Center, awaiting word on whether Utah will be hosting the 1998 Winter Games.
While the Owens won't likely be competing in 1998, they have a vested interest in the outcome of this week's IOC vote. In an effort to improve their chances to make the U.S. team in 1992, they moved from Lake Placid, N.Y., to Salt Lake a year ago. They were hedging their bet that Salt Lake would get the bid and they would thus have one of the world's best luge facilities in their own back yard. Also, they found other things more agreeable in Utah than in Lake Placid - a small community where the only jobs available for amateur athletes are "busing tables at the Hilton."
"Here it isn't just this little alpine village, like Lake Placid," says Jon. "There are other things to do. There are the arts, other sports and there's a business community where you can make contacts. It's a more normal all-around lifestyle. You don't want to have to look at yourself being 26 years old and waiting tables."
Jon works and Zianibeth attends school at the University of Utah.
The Owens are among America's best luge racers. Zianibeth placed 11th in last year's world championships in Europe. She saw the sport on television during the 1984 Olympics and decided to try it out.
"I said I could either go hiking in Tibet or try the luge," she says.
Jon saw the 1980 Olympics and became intrigued. Two years later, the Maine native was in Lake Placid and walked into a store that was the headquarters of the Adirondack Luge Club. "I asked them for some information and that got me started," he says.
Jon didn't compete in the world championships this year, but was second in the North American championships and has won three others. He was on the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team in Calgary and won the U.S. Nationals in 1990.
Both racers plan to compete next fall in the world championship series throughout Europe, then return home to participate in the Olympic Trials.
However prominent the Owens are in luge racing, they readily acknowledge the sport has its identity problems in the U.S. Luge is often confused with the higher-profile sport of bobsledding. That, too, didn't get much publicity until famous athletes like Edwin Moses, Herschel Walker and Willie Gault got involved.
The Owens recall working out at Lake Placid, doing 40-yard sprints, and seeing former Olympic track star Moses watching. "He just laughed," says Zianibeth.
Luge is primarily a one-person event in which the participant lies back on a sled and hurtles down an ice track at speeds over 75 mph. Wins are often decided by thousandths of a second. The skill is in driving the sled at high speeds against a gravitational force of four or five times the normal.
"It's like the roller coaster at Lagoon - only you're driving it," says Vianibeth.
The Owens are hopeful Salt Lake will get the nod for the 1998 Winter Games, because the proposed luge track is being billed as one of the fastest in the world. Though they don't expect to compete in the 1998 Games, they say they want to be involved in some capacity, - as coaches or even minor officials.
Despite optimism that their newfound home will be a host city, they remain skeptical. "I'm hedging because I have seen what the IOC has done before," says Jon.
He says he is unimpressed with the selection of Albertville, France, as the site for the 1992 Winter Games, because of the poor proximity of some sites. "It will be like having 12 world championsihps at separate venues," he says.
Salt Lake's site proximity, the quality of facilities and the community involvement make the city a serious contender. "If you go by where is the best place, they might as well not hold a vote - Salt Lake would win," says Jon. "Albertville could be a disaster. It was more of a political move when it was chosen."
If Salt Lake wins the bid, the Owens say they expect to see American kids coming - many local - to learn the basics while still young, then being competitive with the Europeans when they're older. There are no size restrictions - such as in basketball and football - and smaller luge racers are given weights, according to a handicapping system.
The Owens say a luge site in Utah would alleviate the grind of American athletes flying to Europe in the winters to compete in races. Athletes could save money and jet lag by simply flying to Utah to train.
Meanwhile, the Owens say even recreational athletes could benefit from a new facility. "You can tell on the first run if someone wants to continue," says Jon. "They'll either say, `I like this, let's do it again!' or they'll say, `I'm never doing this again."'