by John Carpenter
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
SQUAMISH, British Columbia -- Tuesday was a day off for Alaskans at the Olympic Games; none of the state's athletes competed.
Of course, that allowed them to rest a bit and take in some of the Olympic atmosphere.
For Nordic skiers Holly Brooks and Kikkan Randall, the day off gave them a chance to get together with some friends and family from back home.
In a restaurant in Squamish in a small back room, family and friends of Randall and Brooks shared some quality time with their Olympic relatives.
It was a break from the competition the athletes enjoy.
"It's been absolutely wonderful, it's really festive atmosphere and I've just been having a ball," Brooks said.
It was also a time to take stock of the accomplishments of these games so far.
"As much as I wanted to win a medal coming in, I knew that was going to take a really superhuman effort. So when I wrote my goals last spring, I said Top 12 in the classic sprint, Top 6 in the team sprint. And yesterday, to sneak in there into sixth place and accomplish both of those goals, it just makes me feel really good," Randall said.
