Elsa Desmond became the first Irish woman to take part in the luge event at the age of 24.
On Monday, Elsa Desmond made her Olympic debut by breaking her best score in luge. However, this Irishwoman does not hope for any medal. The most faithful example of Coubertin’s motto: “The important thing in life is not triumph but combat; the main thing is not to have won but to have fought well”, the sportswoman did everything to realize her dream of the Olympic Games, breaking down all the walls to achieve it. At 24, the young woman became the first Irish woman to take part in the luge event at the Winter Games. Present on the ice Monday and Tuesday, she will then fly quickly to her native country, to put on her doctor’s coat. Without funding, without any help, Elsa often wondered, “why did I get so involved in this story when I have a life that suits me perfectly and a good career at home?”.
But the adrenaline and the desire to achieve the feat got the better of her considerations, she explains to the “Irish Times”. Because her country didn’t even have an official Luge Federation, she decided to create one herself while studying medicine. “I have another job, I have to finance myself, I have all these challenges to achieve. But other people also have challenges that we don’t see. Everyone is working as hard as they can to be here,” she told AP. To be able to go there to Beijing, Elsa had to shift part of her medical internship. She can count, of course, on the support of her hospital, which does not hide her pride. “It will be exciting to see her compete thousands of miles in front of millions of people around the world,” said chief medical officer David Walker, also quoted by AP.
Preparing for the future
In the “Irish Times”, the young woman remembers having told her teacher, after watching the Turin Games on television, that she too would one day be an Olympian. “I’m a very persistent person when I want to,” she comments. When I decide on something, I will do it. So I turned to medicine and now I’m a doctor. I don’t even know exactly why I chose luge rather than bobsleigh, skeleton or another winter sport”. But, aware that Great Britain lacked a female “model” in this discipline, she ended up saying to herself “that she was going to represent herself”. “I made that decision at that age and I stuck with it for a very long time.”
Obviously, in a sport that is underdeveloped in her country, it is difficult for her to find places to train. His father, as a teenager, eventually found an army camp that offered training for beginners in winter sports. The beginning of her crazy adventure, in a sport that she considers to be particularly fair play. “There is no foul play. You don’t touch the other person’s sled. You’re not sabotaging anyone.”
After her first run on Monday, Elsa Desmond shared her emotion. “When I finished that first run, it was just the most amazing feeling. I got a personal best of 1.2 seconds, which in this sport is incredible. I was so happy”. The champion wants to build the future of luge in Ireland. To offer young generations a Federation that will help them, with the 2026 Games in Italy in mind.
Any reproduction prohibited