By JOSH MINER
SARANAC LAKE — More than 400 residents from across the North Country gathered at the Mount Pisgah ski lodge Sunday, bundled head to toe, to show their support for four local Olympic athletes.
With the 2010 winter games in Vancouver, British Columbia, rapidly approaching, Kareen Tyler decided to do something special for the North Country's Olympic representatives.
During the annual arctic barbecue, Tyler decided to set up an opportunity for everyone in the community to gather and encourage the athletes — the largest group the area has ever sent.
With ski racing and big-air competitions in the early afternoon, the crowd was summoned behind the ski lodge. In the basket of a fire truck, photographers were lifted to take overhead pictures while Bob Eckert served as master of ceremonies, playing music for the crowd of flag-waving patriots.
That portion of the event will serve as a virtual pep rally.
The event was captured on video and will be posted on YouTube Wednesday, Tyler said, to remind the athletes of their community's loving support.
"I think it really says a lot about the area," Tyler said.
Megan Sweeney, 22, of Suffield, Conn., will be competing in the luge events in Vancouver. Her uncle, Saranac Lake resident John Sweeney, said that where these athletes were raised has had a unique impact on them. This, he said, will be represented in the games.
"It's about not only the skill of the athletes, but the hardiness of the culture that gave birth to them."
The athletes, John said, are doing more than simply competing for medals.
"It's representing a nation, and it's representing a community," he said. "And truthfully, it's representing a way of life."
Peter Frenette, 17, who is from Lake Placid, will be competing in the ski-jumping competition. His father, Peter, said his son started jumping when he was 6 years old. With access to one of the few Winter Olympic training centers in the country, young athletes here have an advantage, he said.
He said his son is excited about being in the Olympics, but the magnitude of the event hasn't sunk in quite yet. When he gets there, he said, he will realize just how significant this is.
"It feels good. He's always wanted to be here."
Practicing since the third grade, Saranac Lake native Chris Mazdzer, 21, will be making his Olympic Games debut luging in Vancouver this winter.
His dad, Edward, recalled one of Chris's earliest experiences with the sport.
While visiting the training facilities in Lake Placid, the bobsled and luge tracks were open. As fate would have it, the line for the bobsled was too long, and so Chris tried his hand at luge.
Chris's high-school sweetheart, Melinda McAlese, will also be at the games this year for support.
The community as a whole has been simply "phenomenal," Edward said.
"Many people are going to watch the Olympics just because they know he's there."
Bill Demong, 29, will be competing in the Nordic Combined event. The 2010 games will mark the fourth Olympic appearance for the Saranac Lake man.
His mother, Helen Demong, said in addition to being a great athlete, Bill is also a compassionate community servant. It is not unusual, she said, to see him helping out area youths on his days off.
"I'm incredibly proud of Bill."
This was the first time such an event has been organized to honor the athletes, she said emotionally.
"I think they will be extremely touched, and they will feel this hometown supports them."
Appearing in his second Olympic Games, Paul Smiths native Tim Burke, 27, also hopes to bring home America's first medal in the biathlon competition. The only other sport in which the United States has never won a medal is Nordic Combined.
Jim Tyler, a 1984 Olympic participant, moved from Tennessee to train in Lake Placid. He has lived there ever since.
While the Olympics are fundamentally a competition, he said, it can also be a lot of fun to meet people from all over the world.
He said the athletes appearing in their first games might not yet realize the historical significance of their trip.
"It's huge. They won't realize it now, but they will later in life."
