RIDE OF HIS LIFE
In a place synonymous with football, Jayson Terdiman strapped on a helmet for an entirely different sport but felt the same passion and support from the Berwick community seen on a traditional Friday night.
While peers likely dreaded the thought of hills due to conditioning purposes, Terdiman had a much different outlook regarding luge.
“They were running up them, but I was going down them,” he said with a laugh.
That perspective paid off to the atonement of a 23-year career that saw him become the only U.S. athlete to win World Cup or World Championship medals with three different teammates — Christian Niccum, Matt Mortenson and Chris Mazdzer. That run concluded Thursday afternoon.
Well, the sliding portion of it anyway.
Terdiman will remain with USA Luge as a Junior National Team coach after announcing his retirement from sliding. Coaching will keep him involved with the sport that he says has been his passion since he was 10 years old.
“I actually got thrown into the staffing things in April with the Junior program. It’s different, but fun,” Terdiman said. “It’s a different realm, but it’s incredibly rewarding and I’m in a really happy place — it’s another reason to announce retirement.”
Terdiman thought about taking on different roles, but not getting too far from the sport. He felt coaching was the next logical step, sharing all he knows with the future of luge.
“With over 20 years of experience, I would be wasting that and my knowledge if I didn’t share it with other Olympians,” Terdiman said. “... I’ve prepared myself for this over the years and helped coach in Utah for a couple weeks. It felt really good and worked out well. It gave me confidence that I can change my daily routine.”
Didn’t come overnight
The decision to retire weighed on Terdiman since the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. He remained on board because the organization was short on doubles athletes, and he told himself that he would walk away when it was better represented.
Then came the self-proclaimed lowest point of his career. In January, he and teammate Mazdzer crashed in a World Cup qualifying race in Latvia, failing to qualify for this year’s Winter Games. Still, as his recovery time took longer with the stress and beatings he put his body through over the years, he remained present for his teammates. With the lone U.S. doubles spot being given to Zack Digregorio and Sean Hollander, Terdiman gave them his sled and time (in Utah), helping them prepare for the Beijing Games.
“It was a tough pill to swallow, but I was able to lend a hand to my teammates and help them move forward,” Terdiman said. “It helped set a standard to be more about the team and not about the individual.”
That’s what made his decision to retire a lot easier, even if he wasn’t prepared for the outpouring of support.
“I kind of made the decision a couple months ago,” Terdiman said. “But making it official, I definitely wasn’t ready for the emotion when it was made public. It happens, but you move on. I’m in a really good spot, been preparing for this retirement and happy it’s out there and happy that I got to write the post.”
In a Facebook post, Terdiman thanked all three teammates. He competed with Niccum in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang with Mortenson and the 2020 World Championships with Mazdzer, winning a bronze in the team relay.
“The best accomplishment on the sled was in February of 2017 when Matt and I scored a silver in the World Cup, beating out the one German team to finish third,” he said. “We showed up on race day and did what we had to do. That was probably the greatest feeling, and would probably be even if I got an Olympics medal.”
All hills lead home
Terdiman also took the time to thank his parents, Jay and Kathryn Maloney Terdiman for their “unwavering support since day one, my dreams could never have come true without you behind me cheering me on.”
He also credits the community’s endless support.
“They believed in a kid wanting to go sledding. It’s wild where it was able to take me,” Terdiman said. “It’s all possible through fundraising and positivity of the people.”
They may not have to wait much longer for a hometown kid to experience the same highs as Terdiman.
Fellow Berwick native Gavin Davis, 15, is a member of the U.S. Junior Luge National roster and is eligible for the 2024 Youth Olympics Games in PyeongChang.
“It’s really cool for him and me,” Terdiman said. “He still has to race on to those games but it’s really cool that a kid from Berwick can race into those games under my tutelage. It would be wild for me.”
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