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Tony Benshoof
- Two-time U.S. Olympian in luge (2002, 2006)
- Finished fourth at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, the highest placing for a U.S. male luger ever
- Broke the Guiness Book of World Records' speed mark in October of 2001, clocking 86.6 miles per hour.
- While training in Park City, Utah, on Oct. 16, 2001, Benshoof blasted down the 2002 Olympic track at 86.6 miles per hour, eclipsing the Guinness World Records' highest recorded luge speed of 85.38 miles per hour, set in 1982.
- Benshoof followed his record-breaking run by successfully defending his North American Championship men's singles title.
- In February of 2001, Benshoof glided to his first career Senior International medal as the anchorman in a bronze medal performance by Team USA at the 35th Luge World Championships.
- The medal was the first ever for USA Luge in the team competition of the World Championships.
- Had top 10 finishes in seven of eight World Cup events in 2000-2001, including a career-best fourth-place finish on the Olympic track in Park City
- Was identified as a potential luge talent at a 1989 U.S. Luge clinic in Minneapolis.
- A few weeks later, Benshoof was invited to a camp in Calgary, where he took his first run on the Olympic track from the tourist start. "It was awesome. I just fell in love with it the second I went down."
- An accomplished musician, playing Beethoven on a classical piano and Jimmy Buffet on the guitar.
- An avid water skier, wakeboarder and slalom waterskiier, Benshoof sustained a serious cut to his head while water skiing in August 2000 on a Minnesota lake on which his parents' own a home. The gash required 75 stitches to close.
- Earns money working construction jobs with his father and bartending.
- Competed in junior boxing competitions as a youngster as part of an after-school boxing club.
- Competed in triple jump, long jump and ran the 100 meters in high school.
How do you imagine you would describe the feeling of flying down a frozen flume at 90 mph, while lying on your back just inches above the ice? For Benshoof, it's an everyday sensation and one that he describes as follows: "Some of the feelings that you get while going 90 mph are really unique. Some of the feelings are just the fact that you're going 90 miles per hour, the pressure that you feel in the curves, entering the curve to the left or right, the difference of just one inch, can make or break a race. So when you add up the speed, precision and the G-forces together, you get a combination that's really special."
Related Links
Feature: Benshoof is Red Hot
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Video: On being in the Guiness Book of World Records
Video: On his favorite Italian dish
"When I race, I'm trying to think as little as possible and let my reactions take over. When I'm training, I'm trying to think about everything that I'm doing, so that I can maximize what I've learned through training and apply that towards racing."
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Height: 6'1
Born: 7-July-1975
Hometown: White Bear Lake, Minn.
Sport: Luge
Event: Luge / Singles
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