The Doctor Is in the Olympics
2022-02-09
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1Elsa Desmond knows she is not going to win a medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
2She is not even expecting to place in the top half of the competitors.
3But Desmond is competing as the first women's luge Olympian from Ireland.
4And she feels like she has already won.
5In the sport of luge, athletes race small sleds down an ice track at very high speeds.
6Luge athletes are called sliders.
7Desmond will not be in China for long.
8She competed on Monday in the opening night in the women's luge event and she is expected to leave on Friday.
9She plans to return to work in Ireland on Saturday as a doctor. She has delayed parts of her job to compete in the Olympics.
10"As the founder of the modern Olympics said, 'It's not about who wins, it's about the fight to get there,'" Desmond said.
11Although she will not win in Beijing, she has already won some fights.
12She had been given many reasons why she could not compete: she is too short, she did not start sliding at a young age, and she could not balance a medical job with competing in a sport.
13The biggest difficulty simply might have been that Ireland did not have a luge organization.
14So, she started one herself.
15And now, officially, she is a luge Olympian.
16She was the 26th sled to cross the line in the first run of the women's race on Monday night.
17At that point, she was in 26th place - faster than none of the other athletes.
18That did not matter to her.
19She celebrated with a large smile on her face.
20By the end of the night, she was the last in the competition in the 34th place.
21"I have another job, I have to self-fund, I have all these really visible challenges," Desmond said.
22"But I think everyone's worked as hard as they can to be here."
23Desmond is a doctor in general surgery at Ireland's Southend University Hospital.
24Her hospital gave her the time off.
25And her co-workers are becoming big luge fans.
26The hospital's chief medical officer, David Walker, said her co-workers are "immensely proud of her."
27Desmond has balanced two very demanding jobs.
28She has been sliding a few months out of the year.
29And she has been starting a life in medicine.
30There was a time last season when she had to take important examinations in hotels in Latvia and Germany where other sliders were staying.
31"I had to stick signs on my door saying 'Do not disturb, exam in progress' in about six different languages," Desmond said.
32Some sliders have even asked Desmond medical questions.
33"I try to say I'm not on duty," Desmond said.
34Desmond got the honor of representing her country in Beijing.
35She also was given the honor of being one of two people holding Ireland's flag during the opening ceremony on Friday.
36"I really was not expecting this, especially at my first Olympics," Desmond said.
37"I don't think I can put into words how excited I am to lead out the team. I really hope that I...make my country proud."
38I'm Jill Robbins.
1Elsa Desmond knows she is not going to win a medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics. She is not even expecting to place in the top half of the competitors. 2But Desmond is competing as the first women's luge Olympian from Ireland. And she feels like she has already won. 3In the sport of luge, athletes race small sleds down an ice track at very high speeds. Luge athletes are called sliders. 4Desmond will not be in China for long. She competed on Monday in the opening night in the women's luge event and she is expected to leave on Friday. She plans to return to work in Ireland on Saturday as a doctor. She has delayed parts of her job to compete in the Olympics. 5"As the founder of the modern Olympics said, 'It's not about who wins, it's about the fight to get there,'" Desmond said. 6Although she will not win in Beijing, she has already won some fights. She had been given many reasons why she could not compete: she is too short, she did not start sliding at a young age, and she could not balance a medical job with competing in a sport. 7The biggest difficulty simply might have been that Ireland did not have a luge organization. So, she started one herself. 8And now, officially, she is a luge Olympian. 9She was the 26th sled to cross the line in the first run of the women's race on Monday night. At that point, she was in 26th place - faster than none of the other athletes. That did not matter to her. She celebrated with a large smile on her face. 10By the end of the night, she was the last in the competition in the 34th place. 11"I have another job, I have to self-fund, I have all these really visible challenges," Desmond said. "But I think everyone's worked as hard as they can to be here." 12Desmond is a doctor in general surgery at Ireland's Southend University Hospital. Her hospital gave her the time off. And her co-workers are becoming big luge fans. 13The hospital's chief medical officer, David Walker, said her co-workers are "immensely proud of her." 14Desmond has balanced two very demanding jobs. She has been sliding a few months out of the year. And she has been starting a life in medicine. There was a time last season when she had to take important examinations in hotels in Latvia and Germany where other sliders were staying. 15"I had to stick signs on my door saying 'Do not disturb, exam in progress' in about six different languages," Desmond said. 16Some sliders have even asked Desmond medical questions. 17"I try to say I'm not on duty," Desmond said. 18Desmond got the honor of representing her country in Beijing. She also was given the honor of being one of two people holding Ireland's flag during the opening ceremony on Friday. 19"I really was not expecting this, especially at my first Olympics," Desmond said. "I don't think I can put into words how excited I am to lead out the team. I really hope that I...make my country proud." 20I'm Jill Robbins. 21Dan Novak adapted this for VOA Learning English from reporting by The Associated Press. 22_______________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24sled -n. a small vehicle that has a flat bottom or long, narrow strips of metal or wood on the bottom and that is used for moving over snow or ice 25immense - adj. very great in size or amount 26disturb - v. to prevent someone from working or sleeping; to interrupt or bother 27proud - adj. very happy or pleased with something you or someone else has done