Athletes and Athletic Trainers: A Conversation with Olympic Silver Medalist Chris Mazdzer

Join Olympic Silver Medalist, Chris Mazdzer as he works to empower Athletic Trainers by sharing stories of how meaningful and life changing their work has been in his athletic career, which has spanned over 20 years and four Olympic games.

During the presentation, Chris will discuss the ways an athlete's mentality and drive are a direct reflection of the trust that they have in their team, and how Athletic Trainers play a major role in creating a close and trustworthy team environment. He will also discuss bumps in the road that many athletes experience during injuries, and how a good partnership between an athlete and an athletic trainer is key to getting back on track and ready for competition.

Meet the Presenter: Chris Mazdzer

Born in Massachusetts, Chris Mazdzer was just a few years old when his family moved to the Adirondack region of northern New York. Not far from Lake Placid, site of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games and home to one of only two luge tracks in the US. At just 8 years old, Chris was given a choice to try bobsled or luge. Chris picked luge simply because the line of other kids was shorter, so he got more turns to go racing down the icy track in a single afternoon.

Twenty years later, on February 12, 2018, Chris made history in PyeongChang, South Korea by becoming the first-ever American and non-European athlete to win a medal in the Men’s Single Luge event.

He became the first ever luge athlete to sit on the Executive Board of the International Federation of Luge where he currently chairs the International Luge Athlete Commission. In addition to his international roles, he also sits on the executive board of USA Luge and is the athlete representative to the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committees Athlete Advisory Council.

He competed on season 26 of Dancing with the Stars where he missed the finals by one round, and was eliminated at the same time as a National Champion Figure skater. Not bad for a guy who considers his profession sledding!

Chris now lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Mara and 16-month-old son, Nico. He loves exploring Utah and taking advantage of the varied and dramatic landscape that the southwest has to offer. He is still actively competing and looking forward to the challenges of the future!