St. Albert’s Tralnberg Helps Swiss Team Chase Olympic Dream

11/03/2009 06:05

The competitive curling fire went out in Ken Tralnberg's stomach three years ago. It's being rekindled, however, and that fire is again flickering, this time not as a competitor, but as a coach of two-time Olympic silver medallist Mirjam Ott and her Swiss rink.

The 52-year-old Tralnberg, who has his own Olympic silver medal as fifth man for the Kevin Martin rink at the 2002 Games, first met Ott a couple of years ago when the pair were hired by the World Curling Federation to conduct a clinic in northern Japan. They kept in touch and last year Ott brought her rink to Edmonton to work with Tralnberg prior to the Boston Pizza Cup bonspiel -- which they won -- and then the world championship in Vernon.

"Then he coached us at important bonspiels or championships and we kept on winning when we had him with the team," Ott said Monday after a two-hour practice session with Tralnberg at the Jasper Place Curling Club.

Asking him to work more with the team was a natural progression. This winter the Edmonton resident has gone overseas to coach the rink at significant events "to work on mechanics, get them in the right mental mindset.

"I've been over there three times," he said. "The Swiss qualifier for Europeans, they won. One (World Curling Tour) event, they won that. Then the Europeans, they won that."

The rink has only to finish in the top eight of the women's world championship in Korea later this month to all but confirm their berth in the 2010 Olympics. Ott said the Swiss curling federation may add a result requirement at the next year's Europeans as well.

Which means Tralnberg, barring some disaster next winter, will be going back to the Olympics and this time he'll play a much more prominent role.

"I played two ends, one end of each game," he said of the 2002 experience with Martin.

"That was an awesome experience and I'm ever grateful for them for choosing me. That being said, my role the next Olympics is going to be significantly different and I'm reveling in the idea of how it's going to unfold.

"We all have dreams, these girls have dreams, and I want to try to do the best I can help them reach it."

The Ott team is dreaming of gold in Vancouver and Tralnberg is anxiously looking forward to another opportunity to participate in the Winter Games, even if he's not competing as an athlete.

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SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:

Good for the St. Albert native, Ken Tralnberg. He’s obviously done some good work with the Miriam Ott team.