ERIN – The Town of Erin recently showed its support for two local Olympians who recently returned to their hometown, bringing an end to their journey at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
On behalf of town council and the community, Mayor Allan Alls expressed his congratulations to Rachael Karker and Zoe Bergermann for their accomplishments at the recently concluded Winter Olympics.
Karker, a 24-year-old Erin native, concluded her Olympic debut winning bronze in the women’s free ski halfpipe event.
ZOE BERGERMANN
Bergermann, 27, from Erin, finished 15th in the women’s snowboard cross event.
The Town of Erin event was live streamed on the town’s social media platforms on March 3.
“We’re extremely proud of you,” Alls said in his address. “Nothing brings a community together like a shared passion for sports.
“Your achievements are a testament to your determination, skill and hard work and the pandemic would have made all that more difficult with all the restrictions I’m sure.”
While this year’s Olympic games didn’t see the crowds and spectators that typically fill Olympic venues, Alls reassured the athletes the town was rooting and cheering for them in spirit.
“We all felt and lived the spirit of the games,” he said. “And every win has been an inspiration to us all.”
The Olympic athletes were presented with plaques congratulating them on their achievements during the games and were each given a toque.
The address was then followed by a brief question period from attendees.
The two athletes expressed their thanks to the town and community for their support.
“It’s pretty cool coming from a small town in Ontario to represent Canada in the Olympics,” Bergermann said.
“It’s not really heard of and to have two of us it’s pretty incredible.”
Asked about their future plans Karker said in the short term, she’ll be heading back to school and continuing to train and compete.
RACHAEL KARKER
“I want to do another ‘quad’ so hopefully another four years and hopefully another Olympics,” she added.
Bergermann said she’s heading off to Europe for more training. She too is debating another quad.
“It’s probably my most dreaded question to think about,” she explained. “[But] I haven’t gone that far ahead yet.”
The athletes were also asked what their biggest challenge to overcome is while competing.
“I would say that for me it’s just staying mentally calm and not letting any of the external stresses of competing affect my skiing,” Karker explained.
“Because at the end of the day it’s just skiing, and I do it all the time so that’s all I need to think about.”
For Bergermann, it’s more about the sacrifices, which she said could be anything from giving up time with family to mental health to injuries.
“There’s a lot of sacrifices that come into it,” she said.
Karker said the most rewarding part of her Olympic experience was just being there with her teammates.
“We’ve been through so much together,” she said.
“Just to have everyone there together was just an amazing experience with them, especially because we couldn’t have family and friends come watch.”
Bergermann added, “There was a lot of frustrations and isolation leading into the games and so to be there with our team and have a lot teammates get a lot of medals, the team spirit was amazing.”
