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By Rebecca Smith '99
At an age when most athletes have retired, 39-year-old Patrick Quinn '89 is looking to compete in his first Olympic Games. As the back driver on the second-best luge doubles team in the country, Quinn's journey to the 2006 Olympics is one of determination, devotion—and speed.
A hockey player in high school, Quinn resolved to play as well at Holy Cross. While his efforts to make the team revealed his athletic drive and competitive spirit, he struggled for months—and was ultimately released. Devastated, he tore off a piece of his purple practice jersey and vowed to return it only when he made the team again. Quinn practiced hard for two years and earned a spot on the roster in his final year. But he did not return that piece of cloth.
"My career as a hockey player on the Hill was far from illustrious, but I cherished every moment," explains Quinn. "Natural ability may not have been my strong suit, but I made up for it with effort."
He also applied energy and intensity to his position as a coach of the College's first women's ice hockey team.After college, Quinn took up inline skate racing. While competing at the National Championships, he was invited to a tryout camp by a United States speed skating coach. Unfortunately, Quinn failed to make both the 1998 and 2002 Olympic speedskating teams.
In the meantime, to support his training, he started his own company—Q Sports Marketing, Inc. A sports agent, Quinn has represented many of his fellow speedskaters and other Olympic athletes; at the 2002 games, his clients won 11 medals. 
Despite his business success, Quinn was not content merely to represent Olympians. When he read an article about an Olympic luger in need of a partner, he called then-stranger Chris Thorpe and made him a proposition: He would represent Thorpe if the luger would give him a shot as his partner. Thorpe accepted. Ironically, Quinn had attended a luge tryout camp 20 years earlier, where—despite finishing first in every category—he was told he was too old for luge.
Luge is the fastest sport on ice—sled speeds exceed 80 miles per hour—and athletes are subjected to up to five G's of pressure in the high-speed turns.
"Things can go horribly wrong, but they can also go beautifully right," says Quinn. "And it's a very fine line either way."
Thorpe has since retired but not before introducing Quinn to his current partner, Christian Niccum. In November, Quinn and Niccum—along with the U.S. luge team—opened the World Cup season in Latvia. This series of competitions will determine the U.S. Olympic team for February's games in Torino, Italy. The pair's progress can be tracked at www.americansliders.com.
As for that piece of practice jersey he took years ago, Quinn does not plan to return it.
"To me, it has become a symbol of not giving up," he explains. "It's the most prized possession I have."
When not competing, Quinn resides in Illinois with his wife, Kathleen, and daughter, Alaina.
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