For all of the experiences and accomplishments that Christian Niccum has had, there has been something he gave up to make it a possibility.

It’s the plight of many athletes, especially those in a sport which requires training across the country and competitions around the world. But the possibility of competing in the Olympics kept the longtime luge athlete coming back to the sport, despite training on the opposite side of the country from his family.

Niccum, who grew up in Woodinville and who will be competing in the doubles luge event in Whistler later this month, trains in Lake Placid, N.Y., one of only four luge tracks in North America. He has been competing overseas for much of the fall and winter in preparation for the upcoming Olympics, while his wife and 21-month-old daughter live here in Washington.

“I haven’t seen them since Christmas, and I really am looking forward to just holding her,” Niccum said via phone in the Italian Alps. “Win or lose, that’s my gold medal. I want to show her that you can set a goal and work hard to achieve it. That’s the beauty of the Olympics, the feeling of the whole world and everyone comes together to enjoy a sport.”

And it’s not just his wife and daughter making the trek across the border to see him compete, as most of his family still lives in the area — the Niccum contingent in Whistler will be large.

“Every one of my siblings is heading north,” he said. The group will be on hand to see him make his runs, along with his parents, who also live in Woodinville.

A young ‘daredevil’

Niccum was discovered, in a sense, at the age of 12 during a slider search put on by the U.S. Luge Association in 1990. Every summer the association would travel to 12 cities in the country looking for kids who showed both interest and promise in the sport.

“I didn’t really know what it was,” Niccum said of the sport. “But I’m the youngest of five, and I’m a little bit of a daredevil. I grew up sledding, and obviously they liked what they saw.”

At the time, there were only two luge tracks in all of North America, one in Calgary and another at the U.S. Luge Association’s training center in Lake Placid, N.Y., meaning that for Niccum to pursue this dream, he’d have to travel across the country to train. Niccum said if athletes showed potential in the sport, they went to train at Lake Placid and spent a lot of time in Europe, all on the family’s dime. By the time he was 16 years old, he was training and competing full time, requiring eight to nine months of travel a year.

While Woodinville would always be home, he technically graduated from high school through a private homeschool program, but found the time in his off months to compete in the high jump as a member of the Woodinville High track and field team.

What he kept going back to, though, was a sport with speed.

“In luge, it’s the speed,” he said. “You hit up to 5G’s on the turns, that’s five times the force of gravity, what I’d imagine is the feeling of being in a jet plane. You’re totally in control in the most aerodynamic position, and it’s quite a thrill.”

While doubles is Niccum’s speciality, he has also competed in the singles event, which is where he made is Olympic debut back in 2006. After failing to qualify on the doubles side of the event, he finished 23rd overall at the Turin Olympics in singles.

“It was always a goal to go,” he said of competing in an Olympic Games. “It keeps me feeling like I can be a success; I just need my moment.”

From the time when he was a boy, even before he knew what luge was, Niccum said he was entranced by the Olympics. He said he remembers the 1984 Olympics, watching and knowing that was where he wanted to be.

“I knew right then and there I wanted to be a part of it. At first I thought maybe I’d be a skier because I like it that much,” he said.

Eyes on the prize

Niccum may still hit the slopes, but usually there is a sled involved. The luger has three goal World Cup medals with former partner Matt McClain, as well as a silver and bronze in the same competition during their three seasons together in the late 1990s. Niccum and his current partner, Dan Joye, have posted top 10 finishes in World Cup races during the 2007-2008 season, for an eighth-place finish overall during their first season together. The duo finished fourth at the 2009-2010 World Cup event in Lillehammer, Norway.

“Training is going great — we’re on the right track,” said Niccum of their preparation for Vancouver. “We’re commonly in the top 10 in World Cup results. The thing that keeps us from the podium is having a great day. We’re proving it in training, and we’re bringing it together on race day. We’re striving to be at our best.”

While the stress of the intentional competition might cause pains for some athletes, for Niccum, that stress is little compared to strapping into the sled and hurling himself down a mountain.

“There is more stress in doubles and that’s why I like it. Greater stress equals greater reward,” he said. “You have to work in perfect unison, and if you aren’t, the sled won’t react the way you need it to.”

He said the biggest difference between singles and doubles luge is that in doubles, laying on top of another person, it takes a lot more core strength and balance to stay on the sled.

Niccum said he thought 2006 might be his first and last Olympics appearance, but quickly set a new goal for himself when he heard of the location of the 2010 Games.

“I was going to be done when I heard Jacques Rogge’s (president of the International Olympic Committee) speech, and he said we’d be getting together again in four years in Vancouver — I just had this feeling that I had to be there,” the luger said.

It has been his goal and mindset for the last four years, a dream which was accomplished after being named to the Olympic team earlier in the winter.

Twenty years after Niccum starting in the sport, there are now four luge tracks in North America and the one at Whistler has quickly gained a reputation as one of, if not the fastest tracks in the world. But that won’t keep Niccum and Joye away.

“All tracks are fast — everyone is always breaking the speed limit, which is all the better,” said Niccum. “That’s the joy of it; it’s very exciting. Unfortunately, the only thing I don’t like is that the race won’t be won in the fastest portion.”

He explained that because of the way the Whistler course is laid out, the slower spots, which really test the teams, are where the separation between who gets to the podium, and who does not, will be made.

The first and only day of doubles luge competition will be Feb. 17 beginning at 5 p.m. The medal event of the race will directly follow the first round and can be seen on King 5 on Feb. 18 from 12 to 1:30 a.m.