PYEONGCHANG 2018: From a sunburnt country to the snowfields of PyeongChang, the Australian Winter Olympic team has undoubtedly defied odds to compete at the 2018 Winter Games.
However, breaking stereotype to adopt winter sport as a profession in a country known for its warm, dry conditions has built a strong camaraderie among the athletes in South Korea, Australian officials say.
As the 2018 Winter Games continue into their second and final week, the team spirit among the green and gold army keeps growing and has been largely spearheaded by the dynamic Bobsleigh team.
As the four men wait for their chance to compete for their country, the bobsleighers have soaked up the Olympic atmosphere and cheered on their fellow Aussies at every opportunity, adding to the "sensational culture" of the Games.
"The energy in the (Australian) team is amazing," high performance manager and Olympic gold medallist Alisa Camplin said.
"(The bobsleigh boys) have been such a core in the Village, to bringing energy and fun and camaraderie amongst the team and it's really amazing now from all the great friendships across the different sports how much all the other athletes are rallying and looking forward to helping them for their moment in the limelight."
While Lucas Mata and David Mari competed in Monday night's 2-man event, Lachlan Reidy and Hayden smith are extremely keen to make their start in the 4-man race.
"We're champing at the bit to have a crack on Saturday and Sunday [in the 4-man]," Reidy said.
"For us it's a huge opportunity to showcase what we've got and collectively, as a team, we're all really excited to unite and join forces for the last two days of the competition.
"We like to support the other guys. We've been going out and getting the vibe of the Olympics, getting ourselves motivated for it."
Mari said their run into competition was peppered with Village-based training and a full schedule as official cheersquad.
"The first few days’ break it was quite hard not to train all on the track but we kept ourselves busy in the gym and supporting all the other guys," he said.
Camplin said that Australians who pursue winter sports professionally are "against the odds". She commended the devotion that the athletes on the 2018 Olympic Team have given to their sports and their country.
"The athletes that come to winter sports really love what they're doing ... you're lugging huge equipment around the world, it's not easy," she said.
"You don't have your support structure, your family, you make huge sacrifices in your education and your professional career. There's something unique about being a winter athlete and [part of] the winter athlete family because we're all very humble, very passionate.
"We're all very grateful for the opportunities we get and over time we've earned the respect of the Australian public through our results at World Championships and Olympics.
"We're very grateful to have our opportunity and we just love nothing more than sharing that with the Aussies back home."
David Barden
olympics.com.au
