When Erik Schlopy hits the slopes next week at the Olympics,
he’s hoping three times a charm.

Schlopy, a competitor in the men’s giant slalom at Sestriere
Colle, has roots right here in Bradford – his father, Kent Schlopy,
is a 1960 graduate of Bradford High School.

The elder Schlopy, who taught Spanish and coached track and
football in Bradford, spoke with The Era about his son’s early
years on the slopes as well as his return to the Olympics prior to
leaving for Italy today.

“It was obvious very early,” Schlopy said of Erik’s talent.
“Erik dedicated himself to it very early.”

The younger Schlopy started skiing at the age of 2, for all
intents and purposes following in his father’s footsteps.

After teaching in Bradford, Kent Schlopy worked in the ski
industry for 20 years. Erik Schlopy was born in Buffalo, N.Y., and
spent much of his early years skiing at Kissing Bridge. The family
later moved to Stowe, Vt.

“He happened to be very good at it,” Kent Schlopy said of his
son’s skiing ability. “He took to it like a fish to water, I
guess.”

As a child, he told his father he wanted to win gold medals at
the Olympics and also play college football. That’s when his father
suggested he specialize.

“He thought pretty big, pretty early.”

Erik Schlopy first made it to the Olympics in 1994, competing at
Lillehammer, Norway, where he finished last in the giant
slalom.

“He did not do well,” Kent Schlopy said. “He was like a
rocketship without a rutter. He went fast, but didn’t always
finish.”

That’s when he quit the U.S. team and went pro for a couple of
years.

When the Olympics were due to go to Salt Lake City, Utah, – just
a few miles from his home – he fought to get back on the team.

While he did get back on that time, once again, luck was not on
his side when he got mononucleosis in late fall.

“It’s been a tough, challenging career,” Kent Schlopy said.

As far as this Olympics goes, things are looking up.

“He’s very capable,” Schlopy said. “I think he’s going to do
great. He’s healthy for a change.”

The 33-year-old, is the oldest member of the ski team, is
battling back from various injuries, including four knee surgeries
and a broken back.

“He’s kind of like the Eveready battery. He keeps coming
back.”

He will get some help with bright orange, waffle-like padding
that is sewn in racing suits. The material is designed to be
flexible yet stiffen on impact to protect fragile elbows and shins
as skiers roar down icy slopes.

“When you’re racing and when you’re training, you don’t really
feel that much until after – when you’re looking at the bruises in
the mirror,” Schlopy said in an interview with The Associated
Press. “I’d have to say the new pads are definitely minimizing the
bruises and the blows that we get.”

Kent Schlopy added that his son is “more relaxed than I’ve seen
him going into an event, but going to the Olympics is tough.”

“It’s the Olympics. It’s hard to tell. Strange things happen.
You don’t know what everyone else is going to do.”

Erik Schlopy scored a bronze medal in giant slalom at the 2003
world championships. Most recently, he was on the cover of the
Sports Illustrated Olympic Preview edition, along with other
teammates, including Bode Miller, the standout of the ski team.

In an Los Angeles Times interview, Erik Schlopy, who was 19 when
he joined the U.S. team, talked about the longevity of skiers
today.

“The oldest guys on the team were 21, and they were the
veterans,” he said.

Today, the core of the U.S. men’s team is between 28 and 33.

“They were devaluing guys getting older,” Schlopy says of past
practices. “Now, the ski team is starting to realize, ‘Wow, guys
can win their first World Cup at 30.”‘

Erik Schlopy is married to Summer Sanders, a four-time Olympic
medalist in swimming, who is now a television celebrity.

Kent Schlopy has spent the past 14 years living in Park City,
Utah, selling realty under the Coldwell Banker umbrella. In
addition to Erik, Kent and his wife, Marny, have a daughter, Keri,
who was a pretty good skier in her own right as a National College
Champion.

Kent Schlopy said he hasn’t been back to Bradford in a while,
especially since his mother, Lucy, moved to California. His mother,
who lived on Russell Boulevard, turns 93 next month; his father Ed
died.