Erin Hamlin

UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV- NBC) The 10th Annual Sitrin Celebrity Classic Wheelchair Basketball game was a huge success at Utica College on Thursday.

A packed house came to see Syracuse basketball standout Kris Joseph headline the celebrity team along with two-time Olympian Erin Hamlin and Matt “The Hammer” Hamill. As usual, the Sitrin Stars were the ones doing the hammering as they beat the Celebrities 71-38.
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Utica Observer-Daily

More often than not, for Erin Hamlin, there is a bright side.  Be it an off run on a European luge track or a travel snafu, Hamlin maintains a proper perspective and sense of humor when things don’t always go right.

“It’s no fun to be negative and grumpy about it all,” she said. “It’s better to take something away from it, fix it and build it from there.”

Hamlin, who recently completed an improved season, brings the same attitude to social media. Not long ago, Hamlin jumped into Twitter and her voice rings upbeat even when limited by 140 characters.

On a return trip to the U.S. from Europe earlier this month, Hamlin arrived home before her sled, and the experience inspired a clever missive: “Apparently my sled was enjoying EU so much it decided to stay in Frankfurt…..#epicfail.” Hamlin (Twitter handle: @erinhamlin) recently also shared her excitement to see “The Lorax” and a view of a “colorful” car wash.

“It’s definitely one of the easiest ways to update people or give them a window into what my days are like,” said Hamlin, who also uses Facebook. “If there’s a situation I think goes well there, I’ll put it on there. For an athlete who needs sponsors and to get on the radar, it’s a cool way, and it’s a piece of cake.” (read more)

Hamlin, Mazdzer, Niccum/Terdiman win 2012 Norton National Luge Titles

USA Luge

With a large contingent of family and friends on hand for support, two-time Olympian and 2009 World Champion Erin Hamlin won her fifth straight Norton National Luge Championship Tuesday at the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid.

Chris Mazdzer grabbed the Norton men’s title, while the doubles team of Christian Niccum and Jayson Terdiman took gold in doubles.

The national championships concluded the season for United States luge racers on a day that broke overcast and mild, changed to a brief downpour, and then cleared. The race format presented three events in two days: each day’s competition was a separate seeding race, with the combination of both days used to declare the national champion.

Hamlin, of Remsen, N.Y., dominated in winning Tuesday’s second two-heat seeding race. The combination of the Monday and Tuesday seeding victories gave her a national championship crown by nearly 0.9 of a second.

The top three were exactly the same in both seeding events and the national championship.
Hamlin’s final two heats (second seeding race) of 45.375 and 44.935 seconds totaled two minutes, 58.924 seconds.

“The runs were really good, but a little slow, given the conditions,” she said. “It’s nice to end the season on a positive note. It’s good to win and slide here where it’s familiar and comfortable.”

Hamlin’s vocal followers cheered lustily as she concluded her final heat and was declared the winner. Now she’ll take a break from the ice and head to the snow for some skiing before a return to Lake Placid and some springtime luge training on the same track prior to the targeted closing date of April 14.
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ESPN.com, Wall Street Journal

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Erin Hamlin has won her fifth straight USA Luge national ch (read more)

NBC Utica

WINTERBERG, Germany – Remsen-native Erin Hamlin, along with Chris Mazder, Christian Niccum and Jayson Terdiman made up USA’s team that took silver in Sunday’s luge team relay in Germany.

USA Luge says that in less than a week’s time Team USA has not only made the team relay the latest cool event, but with results like Sunday’s World Cup silver medal, they will help the International Luge Federation “sell” one of the new Olympic sports in the United States.

The United States effort came five days after their younger counterparts captured gold in the team relay at the Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria.

Hamlin additionally placed seventh in the latest World Cup race that also took place in Germany. (read more)