Sunday, February 10, 2002
Sled champ sounds off
By BRUCE GARRIOCH -- Ottawa Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- Pierre Lueders is the Brett Hull of the Canadian bobsleigh team.
Want an opinion? All you have to do is ask.
The defending two-man Olympic champion made his first and last appearance in front of the media yesterday before he makes his first run in the two-man event Saturday.
Lueders, 31, offered enough opinions to fill six notebooks, as he discussed his chances to repeat his gold-medal performance, the track, opponents and respect.
Not one major publication -- such as Sports Illustrated -- picked him as a gold-medal favourite in its pre-Olympic predictions, but that didn't come as a surprise to the talkative native of Edmonton
"I've said this before -- I don't think we get the respect from the media," said Lueders, who will team with rookie brakeman Giulio Zardo. "That may have a lot to do with the fact that I'm a Canadian competing in a sport that is mostly dominated by Europeans.
"I don't think the international media understands. I tied with Guenther Huber of Italy in 1998 (at Nagano), but when people talk about him, they say he's the defending gold-medal champion. They just call me Pierre Lueders from Canada. That's fine. That could all change in a week."
Competing in his third Olympics, Lueders dropped former partner Ken LeBlanc in favour of Zardo. The new team has produced strong finishes on the World Cup circuit in the last month, which should bode well here.
What does Lueders like about Zardo? How about everything -- his smarts, strength and capabilities in the sled.
"I hear people say that he's not strong enough technically,'' Lueders said of Zardo, 21, a Montreal native competing in his first Olympics. '`They don't like his style and the way he does certain things.
'`I don't care what anybody thinks about the way he looks. There's no points for style. The guy goes out there and he gets the job done. He's a gifted athlete. I really think that we're going to work good together."
Lueders isn't as happy with the course at Utah Olympic Park in nearby Park City. In his opinion, it's too short.
"The run is only 47 seconds and in the last competition we were in, it took us about 59 seconds,'' he said. '`The good thing about it is that it's steep all the way down and that means you're going to be able to build up some good speed."
Lueders also discussed U.S. sledder Pavel Jovanovic, banned from the Games after testing positive for drugs.
"I could care less about the competition being thrown out ... I just think the positive tests give the sport a black eye,'' said Lueders, who will also race in the four-man event.
2002 Games Bobsleigh Coverage
