Ian Cockerline

Sport: Luge
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
Born: February 22, 1984

“On that miserable, heartbreaking walk up the final metres of the racetrack, I truly felt like an Olympian, and that was my proudest moment.”

A day in the life of an elite athlete can be pretty complicated at times. I wake up, eat, stretch and roll out on a foam roller, then go to morning training for two or three hours. After morning training, I go home, have lunch and often do computer work, answering e-mails, responding to charity requests and filling out grant and sponsor applications.

In the afternoon, I train for another two to three hours, stretch, see a physiotherapist or do ice baths, which help in muscle recovery. Then I go home, have dinner, try to hang out with friends a bit and get a good night’s sleep.

For a luge athlete, there was nowhere else in Canada to train, until very recently (the track in Whistler is now operational). Until now, if you were interested in luge, you had to be in Alberta, and to become good at your sport, you had to live in Calgary. Having the facilities from the ’88 Winter Olympics here, so close to home, has made something very special possible for me.

My proudest moment in sport came when I was a long-shot to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics; I was the last men’s singles slider to make the team. When I took my first run in Torino, I came down in 13th place . . . the top Canadian and well above anybody’s expectations; I held the rank through the second run, but in the third, I dropped to 16th place and was ranked the second highest Canadian.

With the goal of being top Canadian well within my sights, I did everything I could on the fourth and final run to make speed, but I crashed at the second-last corner. I remember picking up my sled and carrying it through the Olympic crowd, devastated after being so close to my goal. But, the crowd was cheering me and so many people wanted to have their photos taken with me because I was an Olympic athlete. They thought I was a hero. Later, when I looked back on that miserable, heartbreaking walk up the final metres of the racetrack, I truly felt like an Olympian, and that was my proudest moment.

One thing I think is often overlooked but still very important, is that you don’t have to be in charge to be a leader. I’ve met coaches, athletes, staff and volunteers who are technically in charge, but it takes a true leader in a group to do what needs to be done and get others motivated. The quiet leaders are often the most effective; it’s an effortless way to motivate people, and from a sports perspective, it’s a great way to push people past their perceived limits to achieve greater performance levels.

To young athletes I say: Don’t do it for the money or fame, because in Canada, you likely won’t get either. If that’s what motivates you, then you’ll waste a lot of time fretting with jealousy over the few athletes who do attain it.

If you want to pursue sport in Canada at an elite level, do it because you love your sport. Make sure you hang out with teammates who are in it for the same reason as you, so that you can all support one another along the way.

If I were forced to pick one hero, it would be Terry Fox. He wasn’t wealthy; he was a regular guy, about my age, who accomplished an amazing feat in the face of a devastating disease.

More about me . . .
Education: Working towards bachelor of science degree at the University of Calgary
Other luge milestones:
• 15th at 2008 World Championships, Oberhof, Germany
• 14th at 2007 World Cup, Calgary
• 16th at 2003 World Cup, Salt Lake City, U.S.A.
• 14th at 2003 World Cup, Calgary

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