2010 WINTER OLYMPICS: Clukey set to return from neck injury

Question: How is your injured neck coming along?
Answer: My neck's doing really well. I spent the last nine days in Lake Placid and was doing triple treatments a day. I feel almost 100 percent right now. The first test is staying home trying to maintain it myself and obviously getting back on the sled next Monday.
Q: What will you do in the run-up to the Olympics?
A: We still have four more World Cups. The Olympics are a little far out for me. I want to get back into my groove sliding and just take one race at a time and get some good results.
Q: Were you surprised you were a discretionary pick for the team?
A: I wouldn't say I was surprised. I had a pretty good season leading up to my neck injury. It's not always the way you want to be named to the team but given the situation I was happy. To have your coaches have that confidence in you, that's a huge confidence builder for myself.
Q: Besides the competition, what are you most looking forward to at the Games?
A: I think the whole experience is going to be great. It's going to be a huge scene. The U.S. has such a big team and it's really a supported team in general. It's going to be really cool to represent that. It's really the only time that all the sports are in one venue. I have some friends on the ski team that are vying for spots so I hope they make it so I can share it with some of them.
Q: How does the Olympic course at Whistler Mountain suit your style?
A: It's a pretty good track for me. I've had really good training both last year and this year on it. I feel really comfortable on the track. The start is really important there. It is the fastest track in the world but it doesn't get fast until the bottom.
Q: Describe a typical luge run.
A: There's a lot that goes on. The start is the first part and you have to be really strong and explosive. Once you settle into your sled, it's all about being soft and being relaxed and taking the track as it comes. You never have a perfect run, it's all about feeling things out.
Every day when I get to the track I walk the track and look at the ice and look at the curves just to focus my mindset. And right before every run I do a couple of mind runs visualizing my ideal runs. You have a set plan for the course, but you never have a perfect run. That's where experience comes into play.
Q: What separates the winners from the losers in a luge race?
A: The start is really important. You can't compete unless you have a fast start, but after that it's steering as little as possible. You have to really understand how the tracks work and use the natural pressures of the curve instead of trying to drive the perfect line. Basically every time you drive you're cutting into the ice and that creates friction and you're slowing yourself down.
Q: What sort of response have you had since being named to the team?
A: It's been really great. I've gotten a lot of e-mails from people in the community wishing me well. I haven't had a lot of time off. While I'm at home I can really let it sink in a little bit and take a couple of days off from training just to enjoy my family and enjoy the moment.
Q: How long will you continue to compete?
A: I think I'll for sure compete until 2014. I can change at any point because it is such a commitment and my life pretty much. The moment the passion's not there, obviously I'll walk away.
Q: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
A: In the summer I like to hike and go kayaking a lot. In the season I read a do a lot of puzzles, like logic puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, things like that.
I usually go (to Sweden) a couple of times in the summer. In August we went on a four-day hiking trip, then there's the international start competition that we go to.
Q: What's the most rewarding part of being a full-time athlete?
A: Every day I can set little goals for myself and meet them. There's always something to work on and I'm a very self-driven, self-motivated person. I like just being responsible for myself.
It's obviously allowed me to see a lot of different places in the world I might not have gone to. I've made some good connections. I have a couple of good friends overseas that I talk to regularly and visit. It's kind of opened up my world a little bit.
Q: How have you grown as an athlete the past five or six years?
A: I've grown a lot. I have a lot more confidence in myself and that's come with the time on the sled. After not making the '06 team I took a lot of time and basically planned my next four years right down to my weight room sessions. I write all my own programs. I decided to really dedicate myself to the sport and change the training I needed to do to make myself a better slider.
Gary Hawkins