10 Reasons Everybody Should Cheer For Kazuhiro Koshi At The Vancouver Olympics

When I tell people that one of the athletes I am cheering for and supporting at the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics is a 45 year old skeleton racer from Japan, their first reaction is that I must be joking. When they find out that I'm not, they wonder why I would support such an obscure athlete. Here are 10 reasons why you should consider cheering on Kazuhiro Koshi at the Vancouver Olympic games:

10. How many other middle age men have photos taken of them that look this cool?



9. It's always more fun to cheer for the underdog.

8. The Japanese dragon helmet



7. When there is no snow, skeleton racers practice on cement.

6. How can you not cheer for someone that proclaims to the press, "I'll show you all what an old man can do — you wait!"

5. He's a fantastic example of what your father (husband / self) can accomplish instead of sitting on the couch drinking beer while watching TV.

4. At age 45, his goal is to come back with the gold.

3. Sliding down a half-tube of ice at 75 to 80 miles an hour...

2. approximately 4 inches above the ice...

And the number one reason that you should be rooting for Kazuhiro Koshi at the Vancouver Olympics is:

1. face first.

Sliding Down A Sheet Of Ice At 45 Years: Kazuhiro Koshi's Olympic Dream

Proving that age isn't the limit that we assume it is when it comes to the Olympics, Kazuhiro Koshi, the "resolute samurai" is aiming to qualify at the skeleton at the age of 45 (I'm nearly his age and I can barely get myself out of bed in the morning without injuring myself). Here is his story:



When Kazu began his skeleton career after the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics where he failed to qualify for bobsled, he managed to do so despite the fact that there were no skeleton coaches or athletes in Japan at the time. He's persevered despite numerous setbacks including job changes and losses -- obstacles that would have made most people quit long ago.

Kazu is currently competing in World Cup races in an attempt to qualify for the Vancouver Olympics. Follow his blog and support his effort to make it to another Olympic games. How can you not want to support a 45 year old that is willing to slide down a sheet of ice face first because he loves it so much?

One Olympic Dream Ends Prematurely: Katharine Eustace Fails To Qualify

Katharine Eustace, the 34 year old New Zealander who was hoping to participate in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games, came up a little short on her dream. Although she had the best finish of the year with a 5th place finish, it wasn't enough to qualify her for the Olympics.

Despite this setback, Katherine's story is still motivational and worth a view as a model of how the journey is just as important as the goal:



Although she's not going to the Olympics, she finds herself ranked 26th in the world, her highest ranking ever. While we are greatly disappointed that we won't be seeing Katharine in Vancouver competing, we know that we will see a lot of her in the years to come in the sport of women's skeleton.