Huntington Station Resident Details Olympics Experience

Olympic luger and U.S. Army Sgt. Matthew Mortensen competed in South Korea last week. Photo/Twitter/@MMortensenUSA

By Janee Law
jlaw@longislandergroup.com

Huntington Station was represented in PyeongChang, South Korea last week, when a native took to the luge tracks to compete in the XXIII Olympic Winter Games.

U.S. Army Sgt. Matthew Mortensen, competing in his second Olympic Games, hit the track with his teammates in the team relay last Thursday.

Mortensen and his teammates – Summer Britcher; Chris Mazdzer, who won silver in the singles luge event; and Jayson Terdiman – clocked in at 2:25.091, which was good for first place at the time, but ultimately not enough for a medal.

The Americans would finish fourth behind Germany (2:24.517); Canada (2:24.872); and Austria (2:24.988).

Mortensen said he and his teammates felt they “really should’ve had a medal in that event.”

The 32-year-old who calls Huntington Station his home added, “Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way. It’s a devastating loss for our team.”

The loss was amplified for Mortensen as this was likely his last Winter Olympic Games, he said.

“To know that we just barely missed out on getting a bronze medal by a 10th of a second was a total heart breaker.”

The day before, Mortensen competed in the luge doubles event with Terdiman, who hails from of Berwick, Pennsylvania. The pair placed 10th.

Unsatisfied with the speed attained in the first heat, Mortensen said, he made a conscious decision to change his setup between runs to make the sled go faster.

Unfortunately, “We had a little mistake which cost us time, but I’m at peace knowing that I tried to go for a medal and it just didn’t work out. We had the speed for it, but we were trying to push ourselves to the next level.”

Of the two events, Mortensen highlighted the team relay as his favorite.

“Instead of being a bunch of individuals competing for Team USA, you actually are a team – you’re coming together to achieve one goal.”

Overall, Mortensen – who also competed in Sochi, Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympics, finishing 14th in luge doubles – said his second Olympic experience was amazing.

“Being part of Team USA as not only an athlete, but also as a soldier, is something that is a huge honor to me,” he said. “I can say that I’m a two-time Olympian. I came and I competed at the highest levels of my sport, and I had a chance at a medal. It didn’t pan out that way, but I’m definitely one of the people who could’ve been in there.”

A member of the 1156th Engineer Company headquartered in upstate Kingston, Mortensen is part of the Army World Class Athlete Program, which allows 80 athletes to compete in elite level sports while simultaneously serving in military.

Looking back at his Olympic career, Mortensen attributed his success to support he’s received from his friends, family and girlfriend.

He said, “Without them I wouldn’t be here competing at this level, and I wouldn’t be as confident as I am at what I do.”