Path to PyeongChang 2018: Indian Luge legend hoping to go full circle

1 | 11 | 2017

With 100 days to go to PyeongChang 2018, one Olympian is looking to create new memories at what will likely be his last Olympic Games. Five-time Olympic luge legend Shiva Keshavan will launch his campaign to qualify for Pyeongchang 2018 when the 2017/2018 season gets underway in Austria later this month. He is seeking to qualify for his sixth Olympic Winter Games.

“PyeongChang for me is where I see the end of my journey as an Olympic athlete. My first Games were in Nagano in 1998, and now 24 years later it seems that this awesome journey has come full circle back in Asia,” said Keshavan. 

“The Olympic Games is an amazing moment for humanity,” he continued. “It is the only time that we celebrate what we have in common while understanding what makes each of us special and unique. All my most memorable moments at the Games have the common element of feeling part of a global family.”

Keshavan still recalls the powerful beat of the ancient Japanese drums during the purification ceremony in Nagano, where he become the youngest athlete ever to compete in an Olympic luge event at the age of 16.  

Since 2014, Keshavan has been an instrumental member of a growing movement of Olympians in India working together to improve the environment for sport in the country. As President of the Olympians Association of India (OAI), his role as an athlete and a role model at PyeongChang takes on even greater meaning.

“Since I took on the role of President of the OAI I know that the lessons of sport are much larger and deeper than anyone has been able to articulate so far,” said Keshavan. “I will try to soak in as much as I can during the Games so that I will be able to share the spirit with other Olympians back home and spread this message of sport throughout our country.”

And his advice to first-time Olympians: cherish the journey and enjoy it to the fullest, the Games are the 'experience of a lifetime'.

World Olympians Association at PyeongChang 2018

World Olympians Association (WOA) is inviting all Olympians planning to attend PyeongChang 2018 to register their interest for WOA’s Olympian programmes.

Pre-registration is now open on the WOA website – sign-up today and make the most of your PyeongChang 2018 experience.

Image credit : IOC