LDS Olympian Kate Hansen spoke to the youth of the Asheville Stake during a special fireside on March 19th.
When 21 year old Olympian Kate Hansen isn't racing 80 miles per hour down a luge track, you can find her surfing on California's coasts, skiing in Utah resorts, skateboarding, playing the ukulele or throwin' down dance moves to Beyonce. Hansen grew up in the southern California city of La Canada Flintridge. She attended La Canada High School and was a member of National Charity League for six years. Kate is currently a junior at Brigham Young University.
Kate first got her start in the sport of luge by laying down on her skateboard and flying down her neighborhood streets. She officially joined the sport at the age of ten. Five years later she won the luge world championship in Lake Placid, New York. In October 2013, she found herself on the podium again as the U.S. National Champion. In January of this year in Latvia, Kate became the first American in 17 years to win a world cup event. She followed up her big win with a stop at the Sochi, Russia Olympics where she competed and placed tenth. Kate partially attributes her top ten finish to her warm-up dance routine to Beyonce songs and the lucky penny she stuck in her suit. It was sent to her from a young fan before the games.
Kate started the fireside with a luge video that showed a brief compilation of races or videos from her experience. She talked about growing up in the church and how she found her own testimony while out on the road with luge. She also talked about some of the many trials shes's faced and how they became blessings--including breaking her back, not qualifying for the Vancouver Olympic Games, breaking her foot, and make-or-break qualifying races (including against her best friend) three times this past season on her way to finally making the US Olympic Luge Team to compete in Sochi.
Kate finished by taking questions from the youth. Asked about Seminary, she said she attended early-morning seminar when she was at home, and how her mom would tape seminary when she was traveling and competing, allowing her to graduate from Seminary. She also earned her Young Women Personal Progress award. The youth asked questions for over twenty minutes, focusing often on what it was like to keep Church standards while competing at this level in a sport.
For more information on Kate:
BYU Magazine Video: "Kate Hansen - Broken, Not Beaten"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMpqHi2Z7lg&feature=youtu.be
New Era article from 2009:
https://www.lds.org/new-era/2009/11/this-luger-is-a-winner?lang=eng
Deseret News article (Baptism of Timur):
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865595704/For-BYUs-Kate-Hansen-luge-is-more-than-just-an-athletic-endeavor-its-a-Mormon-missionary.html?pg=all
Deseret News article (World Cup):
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865594867/BYU-student-Kate-Hansen-finishes-Luge-World-Cup-season-with-a-win.html
LA Times article:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-sochi-luge-plaschke-20140126,0,6551409.column#axzz2rTUDJQtO
When 21 year old Olympian Kate Hansen isn't racing 80 miles per hour down a luge track, you can find her surfing on California's coasts, skiing in Utah resorts, skateboarding, playing the ukulele or throwin' down dance moves to Beyonce. Hansen grew up in the southern California city of La Canada Flintridge. She attended La Canada High School and was a member of National Charity League for six years. Kate is currently a junior at Brigham Young University.
Kate first got her start in the sport of luge by laying down on her skateboard and flying down her neighborhood streets. She officially joined the sport at the age of ten. Five years later she won the luge world championship in Lake Placid, New York. In October 2013, she found herself on the podium again as the U.S. National Champion. In January of this year in Latvia, Kate became the first American in 17 years to win a world cup event. She followed up her big win with a stop at the Sochi, Russia Olympics where she competed and placed tenth. Kate partially attributes her top ten finish to her warm-up dance routine to Beyonce songs and the lucky penny she stuck in her suit. It was sent to her from a young fan before the games.
Kate started the fireside with a luge video that showed a brief compilation of races or videos from her experience. She talked about growing up in the church and how she found her own testimony while out on the road with luge. She also talked about some of the many trials shes's faced and how they became blessings--including breaking her back, not qualifying for the Vancouver Olympic Games, breaking her foot, and make-or-break qualifying races (including against her best friend) three times this past season on her way to finally making the US Olympic Luge Team to compete in Sochi.
Kate finished by taking questions from the youth. Asked about Seminary, she said she attended early-morning seminar when she was at home, and how her mom would tape seminary when she was traveling and competing, allowing her to graduate from Seminary. She also earned her Young Women Personal Progress award. The youth asked questions for over twenty minutes, focusing often on what it was like to keep Church standards while competing at this level in a sport.
For more information on Kate:
BYU Magazine Video: "Kate Hansen - Broken, Not Beaten"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMpqHi2Z7lg&feature=youtu.be
New Era article from 2009:
https://www.lds.org/new-era/2009/11/this-luger-is-a-winner?lang=eng
Deseret News article (Baptism of Timur):
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865595704/For-BYUs-Kate-Hansen-luge-is-more-than-just-an-athletic-endeavor-its-a-Mormon-missionary.html?pg=all
Deseret News article (World Cup):
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865594867/BYU-student-Kate-Hansen-finishes-Luge-World-Cup-season-with-a-win.html
LA Times article:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-sochi-luge-plaschke-20140126,0,6551409.column#axzz2rTUDJQtO
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