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Even though his World Cup season ended a week earlier than he had planned — due to a neck injury suffered by his teammate Chris Mazdzer — Jayson Terdiman’s 2018-19 campaign was a massive success.

The Berwick native entered the season with plenty of uncertainty.

Terdiman had a new partner in Mazdzer after his longtime teammate and Pyeongchang Games sledmate Matt Mortensen retired after the Olympics. Terdiman and Mazdzer hadn’t slid together since juniors. Not to mention, Mazdzer was still competing in singles along with doubles.

With a new teammate and Mazdzer’s commitment to singles, Terdiman wasn’t sure if he’d get another shot at an Olympic medal. But all that doubt took a backseat in the middle of December when the two finished second in the World Cup Sprint Doubles in Lake Placid.

Now Terdiman and Mazdzer are on track to compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

“It was absolutely a great year for the both of us,” Terdiman told the Times Leader. “I think we exceeded any expectation that were set for us. We kind of surprised ourselves with our medal performance in Lake Placid, and it looks like we have a bright future.

“Chris and I have spoken a lot, and with how well things have gone, we’re going to definitely shoot for the 2022 Beijing games.”

While the duo had already reached World Cup podium earlier in the season with a second-place finish in the team relay in Calgary a week prior, Lake Placid was the first time the two made a mark by themselves. And it wasn’t the last time, either.

Terdiman and Mazdzer took silver in the America-Pacific Championships, would later take third and fourth in team relay and finished fifth in sprint doubles at the world championships in Winterberg, Germany, in the last weekend in January.

After everything — with their season wrapped up — Terdiman and Mazdzer rank sixth in the world, and just four points off of fifth place, heading into the World Cup finale in Sochi, Russia.

“Finishing in our first race together in a top-10 position was really cool and a great I’d say motivator for the both of us, knowing that in that short amount of time together we were already into a top-10 position,” said Terdiman, who had only roughly 60 runs with Mazdzer before their season debut in Innsbruck, Austria. “It’s really cool to be sitting in that position. In my first year with Matt Mortensen we finished the season seventh overall. So we’re starting out at an even better position than I did four years ago.”

But just because his World Cup season is over, it doesn’t mean things completely slow down for Terdiman.

He’s back in Lake Placid now and has some sponsor visits coming up and then a trip back home to Berwick in March. After that, it’s on to summer training: Heavy workouts, long volume days.

The key for the future comes in April, however, when Terdiman, Mazdzer and some USA Luge coaches head to Austria to meet with a sled coach to have a custom sled made for the duo.

Then it’s on to the next World Cup season in October.

“There’s still a great possibility for me out there for the next four years. It’s a great way for me to stay motivated because being an Olympic athlete can be a grind,” Terdiman said. “Giving up four years of your life isn’t that something that is easily done. It’s definitely something that I had to think about — if I wanted to do it for the next four years of life and sacrifice into my early 30s. But seeing how well Chris and I have done and how motivated we are both are and work together that this is going to be a kind of no-brainer decision to keep going.”

Berwick alum Jayson Terdiman, back, and teammate Chris Mazdzer were back on the sled this year for the first time since they were juniors. In a season that was full of uncertainty, the duo found the podium three times in 2018-19.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_ChrisJTIgls2.jpg.optimal.jpgBerwick alum Jayson Terdiman, back, and teammate Chris Mazdzer were back on the sled this year for the first time since they were juniors. In a season that was full of uncertainty, the duo found the podium three times in 2018-19. USA Luge
Berwick alum, new teammate ‘shooting’ for Beijing

By DJ Eberle

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Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle