A Lethbridge College instructor has created another lasting Olympic memory. As a member of the coaching staff for the South Korean Olympic bobsled team, Florian Linder helped the host nation of the PyeongChang Olympics to a silver medal. It is the first bobsledding medal in Korean history.
Linder worked with the college to ensure that he would be able to attend the Games, and shared stories of his time in Korea with colleagues back home.
Below you can see the story of how Linder ended up at his fourth Olympics, hear his thoughts heading into the Games and read and see photos of his day-by-day experiences in PyeongChang.
Lethbridge College instructor by career – South Korea bobsled coach by Olympics
Feb. 9, 2018 - Lethbridge College is in the heart of Canada, but during the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games, there will be a vocal contingent cheering for the host South Koreans. That’s because one of the college’s own, General Studies instructor Florian Linder, is working as a technical coach with the South Korean bobsled team.
“This will be my third Olympics as a coach and my third time working with the host nation,” says Linder, who was part of the coaching staff for Canada in 2010 in Vancouver and Russia in 2014 in Sochi. “I had success in Russia and I had success in Canada and it is unique to work with the home team. It is different competing at home than somewhere else.”
Linder works closely with Canadian bobsledding legend Pierre Leuders, who was head coach for Russia in 2014, when their sledders won gold in both the two- and four-man events. The duo was approached by the South Koreans because of the success they have had working with host countries.
“It can go both ways,” says Linder. “There is a home track advantage because the athletes can train more on that track so they have more confidence in that venue. However, there is then a lot of pressure put on you from being part of the host nation. When you are competing at home, there are more fans, more media and that kind of pressure can get to athletes.”
Linder was born in Germany, but moved to Canada at age four. Raised in Morrin, Alta., just north of Drumheller, he is a former track athlete who competed as a sprinter for the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. After graduating from the U of L in 1999, Linder moved to Calgary to further pursue his running career. Instead, he was recruited to the sport of bobsled and joined the Canadian national team. Seven years later, he was an alternate in the four-man event at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
He enjoys the spectacle of being around the Olympic experience, but whether as an athlete or a coach, he says the ultimate thrill comes once it’s time to compete.
"Game day. It's the day I look forward to the most," says Linder. “It’s the day where the athletes have to perform and you have done your job as a coach and you let the athletes perform as they may. For me, that’s sometimes a little bit hard to watch and nerve-wracking, but it’s also the most exciting.”
Linder is one of many people attached to Lethbridge College that has Olympic ties.
Read about others here.
Bobsled competition in PyeongChang begins on Feb. 15 and runs every day through the end of the games on Feb. 25. Making that sort of time commitment in the middle of the academic year isn’t easy, but he found his dream was supported by everyone at Lethbridge College.
“I’m so thankful that everyone at the college has been so supportive,” says Linder. “We had a new dean who started in August and I spoke with him about it right away, and he was supportive of the idea. Obviously, the students come first, so making sure the students were taken care of was the main thing, but everyone’s been very supportive.
As part of the trade-off of going to the games, Linder will bring back knowledge and lessons that he will use in the classroom where he teaches a variety of topics, including Exercise Science, Anatomy and Physiology, Criminal Justice, Anatomy and Sport Psychology.
“The experience that I see at the Games, I can relate to some of the principles that students learn in the books and the lectures,” says Linder, who packed with him high-tech equipment, including a 360-degree camera from the college’s Centre for Teaching, Learning and Innovation. “I also try to provide some video footage for some of the classes like biomechanics, where the students can then work on acceleration and coefficient of friction and things like that.
“I’m more than happy to bring my experiences to the students.”
With a 16-hour time difference between Lethbridge and PyeongChang, it might be tough for Canadians to feel fully connected to the Games. But Linder knows he’ll have a fan club urging him on from southern Alberta.
“People definitely are getting excited about it and talking to me about it and I bring it up in the classroom a little more,” said Linder before he left for South Korea. “I still hold the Olympics in very high regard, I think they’re one of the greatest sporting events there is, so if I can get the students a little more excited and they have a little bit of a connection to potentially watch things other than hockey, then that’s great.”
Listen to Linder speak 1-on-1 to Paul Kingsmith prior to his Olympic experience:
Florian's Olympic Adventure
Florian is ready to set out on his Olympic adventure. He's in Vancouver, one hour until boarding his Korean Air flight.
Florian is on the ground in South Korea and is adapting to life on the road. Fueled by a breakfast of native cuisine, he joined his team at South Korea's massive Olympic Training Centre in Seoul, where his bobsled athletes worked on sprint training ahead of next week's competition.
An update from Florian: "It's a day off training so what do you do? Laundry. It's just a little harder than at home when you can't read anything. Thank goodness for Google Translate."
After a few days in Seoul, Florian has made the 126 kilometre journey west to PyeongChang. The Korean bobsled teams won't begin training on the Olympic track until Feb. 15, so they continue off-course preparations. Instead of staying in the Olympic village, the team has rented a house, with conditions that will be recognizable to any college student, right down to the cupboard full of instant ramen noodles.
Florian hopes to get to the Olympic village in the coming days to take a look around, but he has already had a celebrity encounter, running into the official mascot of the Games, Soohorang.
Florian meets official Games mascot, Soohorang
Florian's living conditions in the house rented by the South Korean bobsled team
Labeling all shoes and clothing is part of the fun when everyone in the house has matching uniforms
Florian is finally inching closer to competition time, getting his first view of the bobsled track at the Olympic Sliding Centre. There will be three days of training, beginning on Thursday, Feb. 15, followed by two races per day and two runs per day for the next eight days.
Florian says this is, "the start of the bobsled track. This is where I'll be doing my coaching from. Looking forward to the next 12 days at my office."
From Florian: "this is the warm-up area that the athletes use to get ready. This is a lot nicer than most (if not all) of the other tracks across the globe. Usually you just warm up in a snow-covered parking lot."
Sightseeing is fun, but competition is the real reason that anyone strives towards the Olympics. Today, Florian got the first taste of that rush as training runs began for the two-man event. There were two training runs today and will be followed by two more days of two-a-day training runs, with the competition beginning on Saturday.
Florian with a close-up look at Team Canada getting ready for its first two-man training runs at the Olympic Sliding Centre
This is the start area, where sleds are prepared ahead of training
After a day on the hill, the Dumpling House was a popular dinner choice for the coaching staff
It's finally here: race day! The photo below is the view that the athletes experience right before they push the sled. The two-man event is the first competitive race to hit the track, with four runs spaced over two days.
"A little over three hours to go before the first run," writes Florian from South Korea. "I have to say this is the first time that I'm starting to feel my nerves. The venue is empty right now."
The first two bobsledding events of the PyeongChang Olympics are in the books. The Korean two-man team had medal aspirations but fell just short, finishing sixth while missing the podium by just 0.49 seconds. That was the event where Canadians Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz earned a share of the gold medal.
In the two-women bobsled event, Linder's Korean team finished in 15th place. That was the event where Canadians Kaillie Humphreys and Phylicia George earned a bronze medal.
Training is now underway for the final event of the Olympics, the four-man competition. The Korean team had the fourth-fastest run of the second training session. The official runs take place on Saturday and Sunday.
After a morning spent at the track for more four-man training runs, Florian took in the full Olympic experience by heading to the Olympic Village.
Zooming by in the blink of an eye, Florian has a front-row seat as one of the USA sleds takes off for a four-man training run.
From Florian: "This is the view once you walk out of the security check point. The dome shaped building is the dining hall, with the athlete housing behind."
The walkway towards the apartments and, specifically, the Canadian section - complete with a moose that has become a Canadian staple at Olympic Games.
The Olympic village has everything athletes need: apartments, dining hall, laundry, dentists, stores, hair salon, arcade/games area, massage, post office and more.
Florian may be coaching South Korea, but he's still a Canadian. This is where he hunkered down with other Canadians to watch the women's hockey gold medal game against the USA.
On the eve of the beginning of the four-man bobsled event, the final bobsled competition of the PyeongChang Olympics, Florian took the time to share a photo that was taken in August of himself with the Korean bobsled team. These are the people who have made Florian's Korean adventure so memorable.
Florian also had a chance to pay another visit to the Olympic Athletes Village:
This photo shows the vast dining hall in the Athletes Village.
This is an example of the layout of the athletes' rooms in the village.
After three out of four runs in the four-man bobsled event, the South Korean team sits in third place, on the brink of winning an Olympic medal. Waiting for the final race to start, Florian sent us back these thoughts:
"Final 20 sleds.
15 minutes to go before final run.
Have my nerves and emotions in check on the outside... inside it's a different story."
It's a dream come true for Florian Linder and the South Korean bobsled team, as the crew raced into a tie for the Olympic silver medal. While coaches don't receive Olympic medals, the team of Won Yunjong, Jun Junglin, Seo Youngwoo and Kim Donghyun were more than happy to share theirs with the coaching staff.
As technical coach, Linder helped the South Koreans earn the first Olympic bobsled medal in the country's history, completing a remarkable journey.
