Olympic luge silver medalist Chris Mazdzer joins host Tom Kelly on this episode of Last Chair for a conversation about perseverance, family, and finding joy in winter. A four-time Olympian who grew up sliding in Lake Placid, Mazdzer now calls Utah home, where he and his wife, Mara, are raising two boys. An enthusiastic skier, he shares how his childhood love of sledding led to an Olympic journey.
Mazdzer first tried luge by accident: the line was shorter than the one for bobsled. More runs meant more fun. Soon, as a teenager, he was traveling to Europe, drawn as much by exploring the world as by competing.
But the road to his historic silver medal at PyeongChang in 2018 was anything but smooth. Struggling with equipment and results, Mazdzer sold his car to help fund his pursuit. An unexpected offer from a competitor helped him break through, while reassurance from family and friends gave him the freedom to take risks.
“There's no way you're going to have a perfect run in luge. It's impossible. I know I'm going to make mistakes going down the track. So when I, like, sit at the handles. I've already thought of all of the possibilities. I've done thousands of runs in my mind. I've got my autopilot dialed, and when I'm going down, it's just fix, fix, fix, fix, fix as fast as you can, and hopefully it's so fast you don't even see the mistake.” -Chris Mazdzer
The moment he treasures most? Smiling before his final Olympic run, knowing who he was regardless of the outcome.
Mazdzer also reflects on his time on Dancing with the Stars, the family moment that prompted his retirement, and the lessons behind his forthcoming book. Today, Utah’s mountains offer a new playground, with Snowbird and Alta among his favorites and plans to introduce his boys to skiing this winter.
