February 3, 2007
It was a mere few days before Christmas, in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, when Tamara Marcinuk was beginning to get annoyed by her ringing phone. After several tries to catch the person who was calling her, Marcinuk got the surprise of her life. Over a TTY, Edward Ingham, the Secretary-General of the 16th Winter Deaflympics Management Team, extended to Marcinuk the honor of lighting the cauldron in Salt Lake City at the Opening Ceremony.
“I was so shocked. The call was so unexpected that I had goosebumps as we hung up,” said Marcinuk. “I saved the TTY transcript and immediately showed it to my mother, who cried tears of joy for me.”
Marcinuk’s mother wanted to call all her relatives and friends to spread the good news – but Marcinuk begged her to keep it a surprise, which she says was difficult to do. Even so, her mother called her everyday after to express her happiness and pride for Marcinuk.
The six-time Deaflympian and winner of nine medals, five of them gold, was a champion Alpine skier for the US Team. Her favorite event was the slalom, which she began competing in at the 6th Winter Deaflympic Games in Berchtesgaden, Germany.
Her streak of good luck continued through the next five games, until her last one in 1991 at the 12th Winter Games in Banff, Canada – except for a minor setback in 1975 in Lake Placid when she grabbed three bronze medals because she was sick with the flu.
According to Marcinuk, she was selected for the privilege of lighting the cauldron because she has the most number of medals in her sport.
“It was a wonderful experience walking on stage in front of thousands of people, but that did not stop my legs from shaking,” said Marcinuk. “I was expecting to fall down as I climbed the stairs.”
She didn’t. The ritual cauldron lighting went smoothly and the dark stadium was alight with fire as she proudly tipped the torch. There was no shortage of people coming up to her after the ceremony to congratulate her and tell her she did a great job. One thing is for sure: this is yet another experience Marcinuk will never forget.