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Brian Martin
- Two-time Olympic medalist (silver in 2002, bronze in 1998 with partner Mark Grimmette)
- Three-time overall World Cup champion (1998, 1999, 2003)
- Four-time World Championship bronze medalists (1999, 2000, 2004, 2005)
- Five-time U.S. national champion (1998-2002, 2005)
- He and partner Grimmette are the U.S. all-time leaders in international medals won (52 medals: 13 gold, 16 silver, 22 bronze)
- Finished fourth in the final 2005 overall World Cup rankings
- Won the 2005 World Cup team relay, 2005 World Championship team event silver medalists
- Won the first luge medal in 34 years for USA at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games, as well as the silver medal by teammates Gordy Sheer and Chris Thorpe
- Favorite Olympic moment came in the 1992 Winter Games in Nagano when he won a bronze medal with Grimmette in luge doubles
- If he could compete in another Olympic sport, he would try alpine skiing or soccer
- While in Lake Placid training, was involved in a prank where he helped take the wheels off the Winnebago used by the MTV's Road Rules cast
- Started his career at a 1988 wheel clinic in Palo Alto, Calif., when he noticed then-slider Bonny Warner giving a clinic in street luge in a parking lot behind Stanford University
- Listens to music of the Foo Fighters…favorite Web site is engrish.com, which pokes fun at the 'English masqueraded as real English over in Japan'
- Enjoys surfing because it gives him "A whole lot of body awareness and it's great cross training."
- Favorite place to vacation is in the tropics, the British Virgin Islands and Costa Rica
- Favorite food is seared Ahi, while growing up his favorite food was shrimp
In February 2006, Grimmette and Martin will attempt something that no other U.S. Winter Olympic male athlete has done before – win three consecutive medals in three consecutive Olympic Winter Games. Figure skater Beatrix Loughran (1924, 1928 and 1932) and speedskater Bonnie Blair (1988, 1992 and 1994) are the only U.S. athletes to accomplish the feat.
Related Links
Feature: Doubles team slides on Torino track
Photo gallery: Brian Martin and Mark Grimmette
Official Web site: Brian Martin and Mark Grimmette
Video: On being self-concious of the snug-fitting luge uniform
On whether he feels cheated that Grimmette always gets to finish first as the front driver: "Sometimes I just want to run him into the wall."
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Height: 5'8
Born: 19-Jan-1974
Hometown: Stanford, Calif.
Resides: Palo Alto, Calif.
Sport: Luge
Event: Luge (back driver)
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