She reels off a set of Atomic sit-ups to jump-start the morning. Takes an extended lunch hour to throw a few dozen curling rocks. Then, it’s often back to the rink for more practice after working 9-to-5.
Such was life for Olympic athlete Nicole Joraanstad, who spent the past 18 months preparing for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Now, with Team USA relegated to the bottom of the 10-team women’s pool and out of the medal hunt, her attention will soon turn to invitations, dress fittings and napkin choices.
“I’ve got a wedding to plan,” the 29-year-old former Kent resident said with a laugh, when asked about her post-Olympic itinerary.
The Americans (skipped by Debbie McCormick) lost 6-5 to defending champion Bingyu (“Call me Betty”) Wang of China before 5,092 fans Tuesday morning at the Vancouver Olympic Centre.
Joraanstad loves playing alongside the Canadian-born McCormick, third Allison Pottinger and lead Natalie Nicholson. So much so they will all be in her wedding party come July in Madison, Wisc. Her younger sister, Andrea, is the maid of honor.
They will likely laugh a little more at the wedding reception than they have at the Olympics, where they were last, at 2-6, going into their final round-robin game Tuesday night against Swiss veteran Mirjam Ott.
Curling is a game of inches, and the former Washington state product said her rink was a couple of shots either way from making the playoff round.
“I have no regrets, me personally,” she said. “I did everything possible to come here and play as well as I could and help our team play well. I can’t look back and say I would have done anything differently. It just wasn’t our week, and that happens in curling.”
A senior corporate recruiter for TDS telecom back in Green Bay Packer territory, Joraanstad attended high school in Kent. Her father, Gary, was on the national curling team in the 1980s, and she got her start at the Granite Curling Club in Seattle.
At 15, she gave up track, hoops and fast-pitch to key on curling, where sweeping with $500 brooms and tossing 42-pound granite rocks more than 100 feet away is tougher than you think.
The sport is gaining more respect with each Olympics as the curlers become stronger and fitter.
Famed sports writer Rick Reilly, penning columns for ESPN Magazine, is here, and wrote a positive piece on the sport, mentioning how fit and attractive the female curlers are at the Games.
“To stay competitive and keep evolving with our sport, people are gonna have to have off-ice training programs and we have a pretty comprehensive one,” said Joraanstad, who is using Twitter to keep curling fans informed during the Olympics.
“I can go out there and play world championships or this type of event, and go play 10 games in a weekend, and I’m not tired. I’m not fatigued,” she said. “My body’s strong and I know that is a huge advantage to some who maybe don’t train that way. Maybe they have other issues to worry about that we don’t have to worry about.”
Team USA is getting interest from fans all over the country, and abroad, as the sport picks up steam.
“I think the continued coverage that we’re getting, that people are able to watch it, and kind of get engaged, is good,” said Joraanstad. “They may not 100 per cent understand what’s going on, but they’re really interested in learning more and how they can get to a club near them. That continued exposure is going to help us grow the sport in the U.S. and build more clubs, and get more athletes.”
During the Tour, the winners buy drinks in the lounge. Joraanstad said it’s all business at the Olympics so there is nobody buying rounds of Budweiser. She has some family on her dad’s side here from the Seattle area, and she counts 75 charter fan members in a very loud and boisterous hockey-arena atmosphere.
“I love it,” said Joraanstad, when asked about the noise level. “The loudness is my favorite. I actually like it a lot. I’ve heard some people don’t, but I love it. It’s electric. There’s four games going on. You can’t expect it to be quiet. That’s energy like I build from.”
Joraanstad recorded a solid 79 per cent from the second spot against China. McCormick, who struggled with her draw weight in a 9-2 loss to Canada’s Cheryl Bernard Sunday morning, and switched places with Pottinger, shot 73 per cent.
The U.S. battled rock for rock with the Chinese. The teams were even through nine ends, when Wang intentionally blanked the end to grab the hammer (final shot) and scored one in the final end.
“They’re full-time athletes so they live, breathe and eat curling,” said Joraanstad, when asked how the Chinese have climbed the curling ladder so fast. “They train up in Canada all year round and we don’t have the ability to do that. They’ve trained really hard so kudos to them for doing that.”
Joraanstad, who plans to go for gold at the 2014 Olympics in Russia, draws high praise from McCormick.
“Nicole’s a great teammate,” said McCormick. “She’s a fighter, she works hard at her game, she’s determined, focused. If we’re ever in trouble, she can peel a hundred rocks out. She’s accurate. Anything a skip could want in a teammate.”
Joraanstad, who watched Seattle speed skaters Apolo Anton Ono and J.R. Celski compete last week, was a realist as she summed up her first Olympic experience.
“It’s unfortunate. We’ve been working really hard and had a good Tour (World Curling) season and played a lot of great games this year. We obviously came here expecting to play better and to win more games, but the reality is we didn’t so we’re just gonna plug away and play hard tonight and try to get another W on the board.”
She will put her broom kit away tonight, and then hope for a stroke of good luck.
“I’m trying desperately to win a (Olympic ticket) lottery to get into the women’s gold medal game for hockey so hopefully that happens. And then our families are still here so spending time with them and maybe being a tourist for a little bit because we kind of live in a curling cave while we play.
“And just taking in the Olympic atmosphere and we’ll be able to participate in the closing ceremonies too so I’m sure that will be just as awesome as opening was.”
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