(Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) South Jordan's Taylor Morris competes in the Men's Singles luge at the Olympic Sliding Centre during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics Saturday, February 10, 2018. Morris finished this run in 15th place with a time of 48.072.
Pyeongchang, South Korea • Taylor Morris has had better runs. Much better. On Saturday here, flirting with 80 mph speeds down the ice, the American luger bumped the side of the track on turn No. 9, pinged against the other wall, and cost himself too much time in a sport decided by hundredths of a second.
But standing near the finish line, 5,000 miles away from the steep street by the University of Utah where he first fell in love with the sport, the South Jordan resident couldn’t help feeling a little proud.
“It shows what the last four years, and what the last 16 years, really, have been about,” he said. “The sacrifices and the hard work you put in, it pays off. I’m not stoked with how those runs went, but I can hold my head up high knowing I’ve worked as hard as I have and got to where I am right now.”
At the end of the first day of the singles luge competition, American Chris Mazdzer sat just off a podium position in fourth place. Connecticut’s Tucker West was disappointed with his 18th-place effort. And Morris, in 23rd place, knew where his night had gone wrong.
“I don’t think we were unprepared. I just think mentally and physically we made mistakes. It’s tough to swallow, especially on the biggest stage,” he said. “But these are learning experiences. It’s about the resiliency of getting back up and doing it again tomorrow.”
And Morris knows a thing or two about being resilient.
Four years ago, he missed out on his dream of making the Olympic team by one spot — a mere four-tenths of a second. The disappointment hurt him deeply, but it did not defeat him.
So on Friday night, the 26-year-old National Guardsman marched with Team USA through the Olympic Stadium here, staying up well after midnight to soak up the experience.
“It’s my first go-around. I wasn’t tired at all,” Morris said. “Honestly, the atmosphere and the fans and everything, it gets you pretty hyped.”
He spent Saturday morning seeing his family, including his 12-weeks pregnant wife, before heading to the sliding track.
At the starting line, Morris felt the nerves.
“To be honest with you, it was terrifying,” he said. “On the outside you try to look calm and cool, but you’re shaking in your own skin when it comes down to it.”
Morris’ family and a group of U.S. supporters chanted his name as he readied for his first run. At the finish line, the 2010 Bingham High graduate said he was proud to be part of Utah’s Olympic tradition.
“It feels good to be able to say I’m a Utah Olympian,” he said. “There’s just such a good aura around Salt Lake, where they’re just born and bred to be athletes. The Olympics is just running in their veins. It’s fun to be able to say I’m part of that legacy.”
Morris will be back on the track Sunday, for the second and final day of competition. This time he hopes to be a little more relaxed, a little more ready to enjoy his Olympic moment.
“You work so hard and for so long and you finally get to be in this atmosphere,” he said. “You’ve already done all the hard work, now it’s time to go have some fun.”