By Linda Delmonico-Prussen
Anastasia, a student at Merrick Avenue Middle School, has moved quickly through the ranks of her sport, luge, with a recent bronze medal finish at the Junior 1 National Championship, also held in Lake Placid, and an invitation to compete at the next level of competition, Junior 2.
Luge is a sledding sport performed on the same track as
bobsledding; in fact, at the upstate New York training camp where Anastasia perfects her sport, the luge and bobsledding teams share track time and a friendly, but competitive atmosphere.
The choice for Anastasia is simple: "I know a couple of people that have done bobsled and luge, but I'll stick with luge."
One difference between the sports that's easy to recognize is bobsled racers compete in an enclosed sled; in luge, the body is exposed.
Anastasia, who was selected as a member of the U.S. Junior Developmental Luge team, and as such attends developmental luge training camps throughout the winter season, gave the Herald a rundown of a typical training day. First, before any teenagers think this might be a vacation from schoolwork, be aware that she takes her class work with her. Now, for anyone else who might think this is a vacation of any kind, here's the schedule:
At 7 a.m., a half hour run, about 15 minutes of breakfast, then onto the track for a workout from 8 a.m. to noon, next lunch, followed by an hour of a gym activity like volleyball or basketball, then it's off to the start house for about two hours of work on starts and some sled work, sometimes followed by another gym activity, then dinner and finally study hall with a tutor.
The training camps are run in Lake Placid during November through February for about two to three weeks each. The luge season winds down in March.
Anastasia trained this year with Olympic-level equipment, and she said the pod sleds, instead of training sleds, and weight vests helped her to realize much of her potential and to surpass many other competitors.
"I like the speed in the sport. Every time I go down, I try to perfect it," Anastasia said. Speeds in luge can exceed 90 miles per hour.
On the subject of speed and weight vests, Anastasia explained, "The heavier you are, the faster you go down the track."
As far as the frigid weather one must endure for winter sports like luge, Anastasia says, "Your body just needs to get used to the temperatures."
But she also said that, while the competitors look like they're wearing nothing beneath their speed suits, underneath are three or four thermal shells.
While speed and strength are obvious attributes one must possess in luge, Anastasia's dad, Bob Young, says mental attitude and consistency are important, as well. "The reason why I'm proud of her," Young said, "was she overcame adversity with a bronze medal" at nationals.
She had trouble in the upper part of the course that cost her some time the day before, her dad said. "It's easy once you have a bad run to be out of it. For a person to come back from that is a very strong point," he said.
Luge is an individual sport, but competitors are always part of a larger team. One team Anastasia hopes to be part of is the U.S. Olympic squad. Her goal is to beat the Germans, who took all three of the women's Olympic medals this year. At the speed she's traveling now, the German hopefuls had better watch out.
