Bethany Calcaterra-McMahon

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Bethany Calcaterra-McMahon
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1974-06-01) June 1, 1974 (age 48)
Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Sport
Sport Luge

Bethany Calcaterra-McMahon (born June 1, 1974) is an American former luger. [1] She competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics and the 1998 Winter Olympics. [2] Despite success at a junior and senior level, Calcaterra-McMahon is chiefly remembered for being in an on-track accident when she was 19, [3] involving a coach from the German team. [4]

Contents

Biography

Calcaterra-McMahon was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1974. [1] She won two medals at the Junior World Luge Championships, with a bronze in 1992 and a silver in 1994. [1] As a junior, she won four national titles from 1989 to 1993, [1] before winning the senior championship in 1995. [1]

In 1994, during a training run in Winterberg, Germany, Calcaterra-McMahon was involved in an accident on the luge track. [1] [5] German coach Josef Lenz had gone onto the track to clean a section. [1] [6] However, Lenz, who he was deaf in one ear, [1] did not hear a warning about a sled being on the track. [7] Calcaterra-McMahon, who was on the sled heading down the track, hit Lenz while travelling at more than 70mph. [1] Lenz's suffered injuries that resulted in one of his legs being amputated below the knee. [8] The two met up after the accident, prior to the 1994 Winter Olympics, with no apparent ill-feelings between them, [9] and Lenz asking if they could go dancing one day. [10]

At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Calcaterra-McMahon competed in the women's singles event, finishing in twelfth place. [11] Four years later, at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, she competed in the same event, this time finishing in eighth place. [12] Calcaterra-McMahon retired after the 1998 Winter Olympics, due to a recurring shoulder injury. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Bethany Calcaterra-McMahon". Olympedia. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  2. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Bethany Calcaterra-McMahon Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Difficulty Helps These Lugers Gain Perspective : Preview: Tragedies hurt, but make Games even more special for Cammy Myler and Bethany Calcaterra-McMahon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Tragic accident that injured German coach still blur to US luger". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Around & about German coach loses leg in luge mishap". Buffalo News. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Luge coach loses leg in mishap". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  7. ↑ "WINTER OLYMPICS: NOTEBOOK; Coach Who Lost Leg in Luge Accident Returns". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Germany's Sledding Coach Loses Leg in Luge Accident". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  9. ↑ "U.S. Luger, Maimed German Coach Meet Again at Games". AP News. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Almanack: Luger who aims to be a winner". Independent. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Singles, Women (1994)". Olympedia. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Singles, Women (1998)". Olympedia. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
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