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Most of the athletes competing Saturday on the Minneapolis Cross Country Ski World Cup circuit arrived on buses chartered by organizers to transport racers from official tournament hotels.
And 24-year-old Adam Witkowski arrived in an SUV with some of his former college teammates, playing his favorite pre-race tune, Cardi B’s WAP.
Witkowski had driven eight hours to Minnesota the day before, planning to sleep in a basement with his teammates before heading out to a city park just to watch an international game. Instead, he was called to compete wearing rented skis and a borrowed race suit, since he only had a little more than 12 hours to prepare.
“I had to sleep in the basement because he took over my room. I was demoted a little bit,” said Colin Freed, 21, who hosted Witkowski on Friday night. Told.
Witkowski, who trains with the Vermont-based SMS T2 team, was one of the U.S. alternates for Saturday’s sprint. This is a reserve that will only play if another player returns due to injury or illness.
The World Cup is usually held at venues in Europe, but the Minneapolis tournament will be held in the United States for the first time in 23 years, so the last-minute change is somewhat unusual for Americans.
However, circuit regulations give the U.S. an extra starting position if the World Cup is held in North America, with teams fielding 24 starters each day at events held in Minneapolis and Canada earlier this month. I have it all ready. As a result, withdrawals are becoming more common, including last week’s withdrawal, which he made with less than 12 hours’ notice.
Witkowski wanted to qualify for the race in Minneapolis, and his parents had booked a hotel room well in advance.
However, this season did not go as planned. He was battling illness, mental health and even a wisdom tooth infection that kept him from making the team.
Her parents decided to cancel their hotel reservation.
“But I couldn’t cancel my hotel room, so my dad said, ‘You better go, it’s only a 15-hour drive,’ so he showed up yesterday,” Witkowski said Saturday. Told.
Witkowski’s preparation for the world’s premier cross-country ski race wasn’t exactly what the book says. This week was his birthday week, so there was a celebration on Wednesday at his favorite bar in Michigan, where he went to college.
Then, after doing some interval training on Friday morning, he set off on the eight-hour drive to Minnesota, where he attended an SMS T2 event where the coach said he received a message that Witkowski “might start.” he said. When he got the confirmation, he was back at Fried’s house, tinkering with his hockey equipment in the basement.
“We treated him like a king,” Freed said. “We ordered him his two pizzas and played NBA 2K. That’s how he got ready for the night.”
In the morning, Witkowski took a quick jog and ate some oatmeal, then piled into his Chevrolet Suburban with friends and headed to the race course.
“When he came out, we honked our horns and made a scene and said, ‘Go to America!'” And everyone there said, “Yeah!” It was sweet,” Freed said.
Witkowski’s parents got to watch their son line up to compete with Olympic medalists.
“We were in the grandstand watching the start and everything, waving flags and hollering,” said Diane Witkowski, Adam’s mother.
Witkowski finished 53rd out of 72 cars in sprint qualifying. But in the three-minute race, he was less than four seconds away from finishing within the top 30 moving on to a series of head-to-head knockout heats.
And he said the experience of racing in front of thousands of American fans and his college teammates was unforgettable.
“This is the best atmosphere I’ve ever experienced in my life. It’s on par with some of the biggest concerts I’ve been to. Just having someone cheering your name the whole time. It’s hard to get tired,” he said. “At the top of the hill, my feet really got soaked, but on the way down, everyone made sure I did my best.”
He then joined up with friends and watched the rest of the race from the sidelines. “Why not?” he said. “It’s a wonderful day.”
(Photo: Modica/NordicFocus)
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