Michigan Sledding Hill Launched Olympic Medalist's Career

When builders arrived to construct a luge track on Mark Grimmette's favorite sledding hill in 1984, the Muskegon teenager had no idea he was watching his future unfold. That 850-foot wooden track, built right across the street from his home, would carry him to two Olympic medals and a lifelong career in a sport he'd never heard of.

Grimmette and his friend Jim Rudicil thought construction would ruin their winter fun. Instead, the builders invited the boys to help build the track that summer, and everything changed when they took their first slide that winter.

"Because the Muskegon luge was built right across the street from me, it made it easy to try it," said Grimmette, now 54. "I probably would not have had this opportunity otherwise."

The high schooler became obsessed with the sport. He'd finish classes, work on the ice crew Friday nights, sleep a few hours, then race on Saturdays.

Built by three-time Olympian Frank Masley, the Muskegon track is one of only four artificial luge tracks in the United States. At just 850 feet long with speeds under 30 mph, it's designed to introduce beginners to a sport that reaches 90 mph on Olympic courses stretching nearly a mile.

Those humble beginnings led Grimmette to training camps in Lake Placid and eventually onto the junior national team in 1988. After narrowly missing the 1992 Olympics, he and partner Jonathan Edwards made the 1994 games in fourth place.

Then came the breakthrough. In 1998 in Nagano, Japan, Grimmette and new partner Brian Martin won bronze, the first Olympic medal ever for USA Luge. Four years later in Salt Lake City, they claimed silver.

The ultimate honor came in 2010 when his fellow Team USA athletes selected Grimmette to carry the American flag during the opening ceremony in Vancouver. It was his fifth Olympics.

"When the vote came down, my teammate Brian Martin came up to me and said, 'You're it. You're the one,'" Grimmette recalled. "It was such a special moment."

Why This Inspires

Grimmette never stopped loving luge. Since 2010, he's coached the next generation of sliders, feeling every curve and combination through their runs.

His friend Rudicil now runs the Muskegon luge park as executive director, keeping the dream alive for new kids who wander over from the neighborhood. The track continues introducing young athletes to Olympic possibilities they never knew existed.

For the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo, Grimmette is bringing one of USA Luge's strongest teams ever. Three women singles competitors all have medal potential, along with two men's doubles teams and the debut of women's doubles competition.

"The sport of luge is a lot of fun, and I think that's why I'm still involved, because I like to see other people enjoy it as well," Grimmette said. A Michigan sledding hill keeps creating champions, one slide at a time.