海角大神

At 90 m.p.h., it鈥檚 hard to predict what will happen next. So luge athlete Mark Grimmette, who won America鈥檚 first-ever Olympic medal in men鈥檚 doubles, wasn鈥檛 sure if he鈥檇 even be in Vancouver 鈥� let alone as flag-bearer.

At the 2006 Games, he and teammate Brian Martin had a rough go of it and considered giving up the sport. After all, the 35-year-old had been to four Olympic Games and won two medals. And it wasn鈥檛 exactly lucrative: a win on the World Cup brings in just $3,000 for a doubles athlete.

But his passion for the sport, ignited on a little track in Muskegon, Mich., when he was a young teenager, won out.

鈥淚t came down to a love of the sport,鈥� says Grimmette. 鈥淲hen I retire, I know that I鈥檒l retire. There aren鈥檛 going to be any comebacks.鈥�

'The right guy'

Nominated by his peers, Grimmette will carry the flag in the opening ceremonies tonight in Vancouver. It's an honor shared by fellow lugers Cameron Myler in 1994 and Frank Masley a decade before that.

To those who know him, the steady teddy bear of a guy with an affection for Star Wars books and a penchant for woodworking, was the obvious choice 鈥� and not just because he's one of a handful of five-time Olympians in the US.

鈥淗e鈥檚 the right guy,鈥� says Olympic silver medalist Gordy Sheer, who as Grimmette鈥檚 former teammate appreciated his calm presence amid the 鈥渞oad stress鈥� that would build during five months of traveling together. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the consummate Olympian.鈥�

He鈥檚 also the consummate barbeque chef, it turns out.

Every summer, USA Luge plays a big part in sponsoring a three-day barbeque competition in Lake Placid, N.Y., to benefit a local youth center. To comply with the rules for the sanctioned event, Grimmette took part in a special course by the Kansas City Barbeque Society 鈥� the head hanchos of the barbeque world.

鈥淗e took a six-hour course, ate five pounds of meat, and took an oath,鈥� says Sheer. 鈥淪omeone had to do it.鈥�

Falling in love with luge

At 14, Grimmette says he wasn鈥檛 planning on spending the next quarter of a century traveling the world to compete in luge competitions.

It all started when he heard some heavy machinery across the road from his house in Michigan where he grew up. A curious kid, he went over to inquire about the commotion.

The answer came back: We鈥檙e building a luge track.

With an affection for construction, and a long resume of building forts as a kid, Grimmette picked up a hammer and helped out.

鈥淲hen it was done, I gave it a try and immediately fell in love with it,鈥� recalls Grimmette.

Today, he鈥檚 continued his love of construction with a woodworking business to supplement the modest revenues luge brings in. A member of the USA Luge executive committee, he built CEO Ron Rossi a screened-in porch recently.

鈥淚t鈥檚 still up 鈥� he hasn鈥檛 complained,鈥� says Grimmette, with typical understatement. But perhaps the fact that he keeps his medals in the sock drawer of his dresser, which he also built, says something about how much he prizes his work.

The task of filling the extra space in that drawer with another medal is still a few days away. Today, Grimmette鈥檚 savoring an even more unique opportunity.

鈥淚鈥檝e dreamed about being in the Olympics when I was younger, and after being in the Olympics, I鈥檝e dreamed of carrying the flag,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut with the amount of people who are on this Olympic team, I didn鈥檛 think I had a chance. It鈥檚 a great honor.鈥�

See host Canada up close by following Monitor reporters and on Twitter throughout the Games.