Luge Singles

Gold Medalist: Tarkwin from Asia. Silver Medalist: Malcolm from Europe. Bronze Medalist: Simon from the Americas

Makenna Vallor from Africa

Luge Singles

Franchesca Vidal, February 25, 2022

Dedham School, Wednesday February 16, 2022, The Winter Olympics Luge Singles took place. Luge Singles are when a competitor from one of the five continents lays down on a sled, the competitor must wear a helmet for safety and slide feet first down the hill, competitors are allowed to pick their head up to see and maneuver the sled. The goal is to have the fastest run. You have two runs and the best one is your score. Quotes from when the practice runs took place;

“It’s dangerous, crazy and there is competitive atmosphere, ” Says Mrs. Kearns from Australia looking at the daunting hill cautiously.

Mrs. Byard from Africa confidently says “ Makenna Vallor slides down Bald Mountain for fun this is easy for her, Wooo Africa.”

Trevor is ready to take the gold.

Mrs Handley believes that Asia will come out victorious, and Nate Cook feels like Tarkwin will be the winner for this competition. Callie Hanscom agrees that Tarkwin will get a win for team Asia and that Tarkwin is extremely fast.

All of the students from Pre K-3rd grade took their sides for which continent they were cheering for. Third grade girls took the side of Europe (good choice) while third grade boys cheered for Asia, other grades mixed and cheered for more than one. At 10:35 everyone is finished with the luge practice runs and are getting ready to compete, and at 10:37 Mr. Pearson explained the rules to the competitors and spectators.

The first competitor is Malcolm from Europe, and his first run was 9.8 seconds. Second competitor is Tarkwin from Asia, and his run was 7.15 seconds. Third competitor, and he had 17.35 seconds and missed the final gate. Fourth competitor is Sophie from Australia, and her time was 7.5 seconds. The fifth competitor was MaKenna from Africa, she had a time of 7.8 seconds. For the first round Sophie led the way, but was soon to be bumped from the lead. On Malcolm’s second run, he took the lead with 6.9 seconds. Tarkwin’s second run was 6.53. Simon’s second run was 7.0 seconds. Sophie’s second run was 7.63. MaKenna’s second run was 12.44.

“ It was fun but my first run was slow, I’ll work on that.” Malcolm said after the competition was over. In the end the medals were awarded to the Americas with bronze, Europe with silver and Asia taking the gold.

2022 Olympic News Article:

Tarkwin and Alivia Slide to the Olympic Gold Medal!

(Dedham, ME) With a cold and icy day, the Olympics were starting their fourth competition. The competitors were tense and focused and the crowd was excited and cheering for their country. Chants were yelled and sung throughout the crowd while the competitors were getting ready on the top of the steep, slippery hill. The temperature was below freezing with winds that cut through the spectator's faces with ease. Interviewers were gathering their information and jotting down important details. All watched eagerly at the top of the hill, waiting for the double to slide down.

The rules for this competition are that each team gets two attempts on the hill and only the best time counts. Competitors must wear helmets. Competitors must remain in a prone position with only their heads and shoulders lifted to be able to see. Starting before the signal or missing a gate results in adding five seconds to your time.

The first double to slide down the frozen hill was Ben and Grady from Africa. They traveled down the hill fast and furious going through both of the sets of cones perfectly. Their time was a very speedy 7:18.

Nick and Owen from Oceania were next. They slid down the hill extremely quickly. Once they slipped through both of the gates, Mr. Person said, “That’s a nice run.” The stopwatch read 7:18. They had tied for first place.

The third group to go down the icebound hill was Chase and Zanye. They are from the Americas. While going down the hill, they were scooped up into the air and then slammed roughly back down. Because of this, their time was a little slower with a 7:60.

Next up was DJ and Brock from Europe. Their run displayed the most skill out of all of them. Mr. P said, “Most skilled steering that we have seen today.” The two crashed into the first cone and managed to stay inside the cone and then hit against the second cone and still managed to stay inside the gates. Their time was 7:78.

DJ and Brock went again and had a mid-run drift that slowed them down significantly. They crossed the line with 8:18 on the stopwatch. Brock immediately said, “Horrible.”

Chase and Zanye were next up to go down the frosted hill. They had a very smooth ride and swiftly crossed the gates easily. “That’s a good time right there.” Mr. Pearson said.

Ben and Grady went up after the two and started off with an interesting start. Mr. Pearson counted down from 3 and then the siren didn’t go off. Ben and Grady crashed and then Mr. Pearson explained that the run didn’t count. This led to the group climbing back up the icy hill and getting ready for their makeup run.

Nick and Owen followed Ben and Grady and had a very smooth ride. Their time ended up being 7:50.

Ben and Grady then did their makeup run. Their sled barely slipped through the last gate. They ended up with the time of 7:43.

The last run was Tarkwin and Alivia. They slid down the hill fast and bumpy. It was so bumpy that Alivia almost fell out of the sled. Their time was 7:63.

The results were: DJ and Brock in 5th. Chase a Zanye in 4th. Nick and Owen in 3rd. Ben and Grady in 2nd. Lastly, Tarkwin and Alivia took the gold medal in 1st place.

Interviews:

Ben R before the game: “We’re gonna win!”

Jake before the game: “It’s going to be very entertaining. Good luck to Ben and Grady.”

Mrs. Kearns: “Australia is going to win all the way mate. We come from a land down under.”

Mr. Pearson: “It is a tough course today. Hard to steer. It’s gonna go to the people that control the sled the best.”

Mrs. Robinson: “I think it depends on how everyone does with the steering. It is an icy course. It looks like the doubles are going to go a lot faster than the singles did.”

Mrs. Byard: “Well, obviously I think that Africa has a very strong shot. Ben is very experienced and will guide Grady to the gold.”