Gordy Sheer, a silver medalist in luge doubles at the 1998 Games at Nagano, Japan joined the U.S. Luge Team for a 3-day event in Worcester that began January 6th. The event, sponsored by Norton, a brand of Saint-Gobain Abrasives based in Worcester, included a luge exhibition, free skating on the Worcester Common, and the Norton Luge Challenge at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton.
As part of his visit, Gordy Sheer met with Worcester YouthBuild students on Friday, January 6th, to share stories of his involvement in luge, his past races, and interesting facts about the sport. Despite the snow storm, students were thrilled to visit Wachusett Mountain on Saturday where Gordy personally greeted them with a warm welcome. “I can’t believe he actually remembered us!” exclaimed student Imalay Guzman.
Gordy also gave the students a hands-on demonstration on luging and how to operate the sled. Equipped with their new skills, they took to the mountain and had a blast practicing. According to student Christian Vergara, “I liked that an Olympian showed me how the use the luge sled.”
A GREAT BIG THANKS to Gordy Sheer for sharing your expertise and for your kindness and genuine caring of our students and to Norton/ Saint-Gobain Abrasives for giving our students this incredible opportunity and experience!
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About Norton/ Saint-Gobain Abrasives and USA Luge Team Partnership:
In the beginning, Norton, a brand of Saint-Gobain Abrasives based in Worcester, provided simple donations of sandpaper to help shape and polish the steel runners of the luge sleds, and over the past 30 years the relationship has grown to include a vast array of product donations to the team, ranging from automotive aftermarket goods to world-class advanced abrasive solutions. Over the past few years, Norton has offered technological assistance in helping the athletes with consistent sled assembly, fine-tuned the metal alloy of the sled runners, and even created a technical database in which the athletes record and analyze data on their performance during each run down the track in an effort to maximize their speed. Through their partnership with USA Luge, Saint-Gobain Abrasives has a rewarding opportunity to share their expertise and world-class products with the talented and dedicated group of individuals at the USA Luge team while also supporting them in their quest for gold.
