The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games may be over, but Cobalt is still cheering on one of its own. Mark Bathum, who we first introduced to Digital Mileage readers back in December, is a ski racer. He is currently competing in the 2010 Paralympic Games, which began officially in Whistler, B.C. on March 12th and end on Sunday, March 21st.
Bathum is a Cobalt Diehard and has been training for over a year for his Paralympics bid. On Thursday, Bathum and his guide, Slater Storey, missed winning the men’s gold medal by less than half a second but still secured the silver medal for the USA team.
“This course is great, it’s a true downhill. It’s got a great test of speed, a great test of skill,” Bathum said. “It flows with the hill so easily. It’s a really fun place to race downhill. I’m thrilled to get a silver here in Canada.”
You can learn more on Bathum’s website, which includes information about what ski racing is, as well as photos and video from the events.
Every Olympic athlete faces challenges, and Bathum is no different.
“The toughest challenge leading to the Paralympics was time management,” Bathum said. “It was essentially impossible to complete everything that needed to be done each day, including work, race training, ski tuning, stretching, dry land training, rest/recovery, blogging, travel, packing, trip prep, etc. The last two months have been jam-packed from training essentially 5am to 11pm, but having a goal for which I am passionate made the full days fun and rewarding.”
As the actual Games approached, Bathum considered whether or not to attend the opening ceremonies.
“I am planning to forego the opening ceremonies to be well rested for Saturday… On the other hand, everyone says the high received from attending definitely gets you ready to race.”
He also described the run up to actual competition.
“We had five tune up World Cup races at Aspen leading into the Paralympics,” he recalled. “Slater and I placed second in the two downhills, second in one Super-G, middle of the pack in one Super-G following a few blown turns and were disqualified from our slalom run because Slater and I became separated by more than two gates.”
The challenges are balanced by the unique experiences, as Bathum describes best: “With our arrival in Denver for Paralympic processing, our tiny sport felt like it had hit the big leagues. We spent 2.5 hours obtaining 60 pieces of apparel, belts, hats and shoes. We were showered with boldly patterned jackets, fleece, sweatshirts, button shirts, polo shirts, t-shirts and exercise gear. Clearly, the U.S. Olympic Committee wants the U.S. delegation to be recognized via our striking apparel.”
Bathum is competing in additional events Friday, Saturday and, possibly, Sunday. As John Holt said in a message to the company on Friday, “This is a huge accomplishment and it shows the alignment of hard work and fastidious preparation with great results. Mark, we are VERY proud of you; and we look forward to seeing your medal when you return.”
The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive
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Cobalt’s Very Own Olympic Athlete
March 19, 2010 — aspeyerBathum is a Cobalt Diehard and has been training for over a year for his Paralympics bid. On Thursday, Bathum and his guide, Slater Storey, missed winning the men’s gold medal by less than half a second but still secured the silver medal for the USA team.
“This course is great, it’s a true downhill. It’s got a great test of speed, a great test of skill,” Bathum said. “It flows with the hill so easily. It’s a really fun place to race downhill. I’m thrilled to get a silver here in Canada.”
You can learn more on Bathum’s website, which includes information about what ski racing is, as well as photos and video from the events.
Every Olympic athlete faces challenges, and Bathum is no different.
“The toughest challenge leading to the Paralympics was time management,” Bathum said. “It was essentially impossible to complete everything that needed to be done each day, including work, race training, ski tuning, stretching, dry land training, rest/recovery, blogging, travel, packing, trip prep, etc. The last two months have been jam-packed from training essentially 5am to 11pm, but having a goal for which I am passionate made the full days fun and rewarding.”
As the actual Games approached, Bathum considered whether or not to attend the opening ceremonies.
“I am planning to forego the opening ceremonies to be well rested for Saturday… On the other hand, everyone says the high received from attending definitely gets you ready to race.”
He also described the run up to actual competition.
“We had five tune up World Cup races at Aspen leading into the Paralympics,” he recalled. “Slater and I placed second in the two downhills, second in one Super-G, middle of the pack in one Super-G following a few blown turns and were disqualified from our slalom run because Slater and I became separated by more than two gates.”
The challenges are balanced by the unique experiences, as Bathum describes best: “With our arrival in Denver for Paralympic processing, our tiny sport felt like it had hit the big leagues. We spent 2.5 hours obtaining 60 pieces of apparel, belts, hats and shoes. We were showered with boldly patterned jackets, fleece, sweatshirts, button shirts, polo shirts, t-shirts and exercise gear. Clearly, the U.S. Olympic Committee wants the U.S. delegation to be recognized via our striking apparel.”
Bathum is competing in additional events Friday, Saturday and, possibly, Sunday. As John Holt said in a message to the company on Friday, “This is a huge accomplishment and it shows the alignment of hard work and fastidious preparation with great results. Mark, we are VERY proud of you; and we look forward to seeing your medal when you return.”
The Cobalt Group
www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.youtube.com/cobaltlive
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