WHISTLER CREEKSIDE, B.C. — One of the most important people in Will Brandenburg’s life couldn’t stay awake to watch his Olympics debut.
As her uncle skied to one of the best performances of his life in the men’s super combined Sunday, Reese Quarterman snoozed on her dad’s shoulder amid a raucous, pro-U.S. crowd.
Boy did she miss a good show.
After a solid downhill run that placed him 27th overall, the 23-year-old Spokane native posted a blistering time of 50.78 seconds in the slalom portion of the event en route to a surprising 10th-place finish. Brandenburg’s time in the slalom was second only to teammate Ted Ligety, who finished fifth overall.
“I was confident I could go fast,” Brandenburg said of his mindset before leaving the gate for his slalom run. “I wanted to beat some guys.”
Brandenburg’s sister Emily Quarterman and brother-in-law Craig Quarterman, who live in Snohomish, cheered him on from the crowd, helping make up for the fact their 11-month-old daughter was a bit too tired to make it through the festivities. Brandenburg’s parents, Brad and Anne Brandenburg, and a large contingent of friends from his hometown of Spokane also were in attendance.
“It was amazing to be here and watch him in the Olympics,” Emily said. “He’s been skiing fast lately, so just finishing was key for him.”
Brandenburg, the fourth skier down the slalom course, actually sat in first place through the next six skiers of the final round until Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud knocked him out.
“I’ve never been the leader for the second run in a World Cup,” Brandenburg said, “so it was a pretty fun experience. I wished I’d stayed up there a little longer.”
After a bad crash in Saturday’s practice session for the downhill portion, Brandenburg, who was still sporting a nasty bruise on his forehead, copped to being a little nervous before the downhill Sunday.
“(My confidence) was as close to zero as it could’ve been,” Brandenburg said with a laugh. “It might have helped because I was more nervous about the downhill than I was about the Olympics.”
Emily Quarterman, though, thinks her parents may have been even more nervous than her brother.
“They were pretty emotional before he came down that first run,” Emily said after watching her brother’s downhill race, which he finished in 1 minute, 56.28 seconds.
Being here Sunday was no small feat for the Brandenburg faithful. The super combined was postponed Tuesday because of bad weather, leaving Brandenburg’s friends and family scrambling to make backup plans. Emily stayed with her parents, while Craig had to head back home for work before rushing back to Whistler on Sunday. Brandenburg also said many of his friends made it back to Whistler after going home to Spokane in the intervening days.
Not only does Brandenburg get to relish a top-10 finish, but he can also claim to be a part of the greatest U.S. alpine ski team in history. Bode Miller took home gold Sunday and Ted Ligety’s fifth-place finish came after he posted the fastest time down the slalom course. Miller’s medal increased the American ski team’s haul to seven for the games, the most ever by a U.S. team at a Winter Games.
“All the guys, Bode, Marco (Sullivan), (Steve) Nyman, Tim (Jitloff) have helped me develop as a skier,” Brandenburg said. “Skiing is so mental, the more experience you have the better you’re going to be. Those guys have a lot of knowledge to share with us younger guys and that’s why I think you see a lot of the young guys for the U.S. doing so well.”
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