University of Connecticut Athletics
Emt Reflects on Paralympics in South Korea
4/2/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STORRS, Conn. – When the UConn women’s basketball team played Duke in the Sweet 16 in Albany, N.Y. last Saturday, Steve Emt was recognized during a timeout for competing in the 2018 Paralympic Games – a fitting gesture for a special journey.
Emt, a member of the U.S. National Paralympic Curling Team, returned from Pyeongchang on Monday, March 19. With his return, he brought back a lifetime of experiences from just a three-week tenure in South Korea.
“Everything I thought it was going to be, it was a hundred times greater than that. To be there representing my country in the Olympic Village at the Paralympic Games, it was amazing,” said Emt.
Competing against Paralympians from all over the world was just one of the exciting opportunities for Emt, who said that the athletes ate together, spent time together, and even played PlayStation together to add camaraderie to the experience.
It started with the Opening Games and coming out of the tunnel behind the American flag in front of a crowd of 35,000 people. Emt rolled out behind the flag bearer with music blasting, feeling a strong sense of national pride and achievement.
“I have been told by several people that was the biggest smile they had ever seen on my face,” said Emt, who only picked up curling in the summer of 2013.
It was back in 1995 that Emt, a former walk-on for the UConn men’s basketball team, was in a terrible car accident that rendered him paralyzed. Even with that tragic moment, and all the ensuing hardships, he found himself among the world’s best athletes in the Paralympics.
“The stories were incredible…some people were double amputees. I saw a cross-country skier who lost both his legs and one arm, but still cross-country skiing 14 kilometers with a prosthetic,” said Emt. “They are incredible athletes. It makes you think twice about complaining about a headache next time.”
U.S. curling did not perform as well as expected, according to Emt, as the record was not indicative of the team’s skill level. Four or five different games came down to just one or two stones against top competition.
The results came down to seasoned experience, as the U.S. lineup consisted of players who had only competed together for about two months according to Emt. Other professional teams have been together for up to a decade.
“We’re inexperienced as far as the rest of the world goes and it showed a little bit,” said Emt. “In sports, there is winning and there is learning – there is no losing. We didn’t win, but we learned a ton and will move forward to get ready for the next four years.”
Some curling teams are made up of professionals, like China, Norway and Great Britain, but the U.S. team has competitors with regular jobs – limiting their practice time. However, the competition itself was extremely memorable.
“Competing for a gold medal in front of 4,000 people in the crowd and then the rest of the world – it’s an incredible experience,” said Emt.
Life in Olympic Village was as comfortable as one might expect, with basically an “eat, curl, relax” mentality for Emt. People from all over the world live in the Village, sharing stories with one another and trading pins.
“It’s as close to the life of a professional athlete as you can get,” said Emt. “You are rolling to the dining hall and going by people from Finland, Iceland, Kazakhstan and South Korea – trying to communicate with everyone.”
Each athlete is given trading pins specific to their home country, with the objective to swap with opposing athletes and see how many countries’ pins you can collect. It’s just another example of the Paralympic culture bringing people together.
When it came to the South Korean culture, Emt was complimentary in all aspects – expressing a desire to return to the country one day.
“That country is amazing. The people are incredibly nice and hospitable. When people ask me what my favorite part of South Korea was, I say the people,” said Emt. “The mountainside and landscape is gorgeous – the culture, the history, the food – we’ll definitely be going back.”
An unusual sight for Emt was the popular open-air markets, which sell fresh fish on the side of the road. At one place, a tank full of eels were on sale, while another spot nearby had stingrays. Seeing how a different part of the world lives was a unique opportunity for Emt.
With the Paralympic Games now behind him, Emt looks to continue perfecting his craft and preparing for the upcoming curling tournaments – and even the ones four years from now.
“Our next team function is in June, that’s our first camp for the pre-trial process and anyone from the U.S. can try out,” said Emt. “The next World Championship is in February in Stirling, Scotland, so that’s our goal right now. Then we’re focusing on China in 2022.”
Whether the five members of the team remain together or not is yet to be seen, depending on if some retire. However, Emt is in “100-percent”, as his dream continues.
