BEIJING — Sometimes, when Summer Britcher is waiting at the top of the luge track, hands ready to grip the handles and explode at speeds north of 70 miles per hour, body tensed, mind focused on steering the ideal course, she pauses and allows herself to feel excited—and not just about the race.
“I’m like, man, in 45 more seconds I’m gonna be warm,” she says. “As soon as I pull off, I can’t feel the cold, right? When you’re going, you don’t feel the cold. … You’re so in the zone and in the moment, on this super-hard ice—which is my favorite condition to slide on—and then the run ends, and I’m yelling cuss words about how cold it is and running to get my jacket.”
As temperatures here dip below zero degrees Fahrenheit, snow flurries erase visibility and blustery winds postpone events, some winter Olympians have a confession to make: They hate the winter.
