In her first vlog, luge athlete Erin Hamlin gives a little background and takes us inside one of her practices.

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By Anne Delaney, Observer-Dispatch

Remsen loves Erin Hamlin.

The support for the two-time Olympian was on signs along Main Street Friday night, and it was on Rich Kaufman’s red, white and blue hat.

“Darn tootin’,” the Remsen man said of the cap that said “Go Erin, USA Luge.” “Erin is an upstanding young lady, and her family is an upstanding family.

On Friday, the community honored Hamlin, its two-time Olympic luge athlete, with an event that began with a parade from Remsen Central School and proceeded down Main Street to the Remsen Depot.

There, about 250 people gathered to talk, eat and get up-close and personal with Hamlin, 23, who remains in the area for the offseason.

Hamlin was honored by Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente and her grandfather, Les Porter, a member of the Oneida County Board of Legislators.

“It’s Erin’s town, it’s Erin’s county,” Picente said. “We used to call this Porter Country, now it’s Hamlin Country.”

Hometown loyalty

Those assembled didn’t care about Hamlin’s race results or the fact that she finished 16th in February in the Vancouver Olympics.

They were proud of her for her accomplishments on and off the track. And the unconditional loyalty was not lost on the competitive and focused Hamlin, who as an athlete during a long luge season usually was looking at her performances from week to week.

Hamlin, dressed in a blue USA jacket, white pants and red heels, signed autographs at the depot and mingled with family, friends and loyal fans, many of whom have followed her since she started her luge journey more than 10 years ago. (read more)

Erin Hamlin is one of 14 nominees for the 80th annual Sullivan Award. Nominees include athletes who won titles in sports from luge world championships to NCAA basketball to track and field titles.

The AAU Sullivan Award honors the outstanding amateur athlete in the USA.  Presented annually since 1930, the Sullivan also is based on leadership, character, sportsmanship and the ideals of amateurism.

The winner will be announced April 14 in New York. Voting is open through March 31.

VOTE HERE: Click to cast a ballot.   

Erin Hamlin of Remsen, N.Y., won the 2009 World Championship in women’s luge, breaking Germany’s 16-year winning streak as she became the first U.S. woman to ever medal at the Luge World Championships. This marked the first time in 99 races that a German woman was not the top finisher.

Erin’s World Championship win over the German’s in 2009 was a momentous milestone on her journey to success.  In that same year, Erin also won her second consecutive U.S. National Championship (she has since won a third in 2010).

Also in 2009, Erin was named the USA Luge “Female Athlete of the Year” and United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Athlete of the Month (February).

Erin is not only a champion on the track, but off the ice as well.  Erin takes great pride in giving back to others and maintaining close ties with community relations.  Whether she is speaking to groups to share her experience and encourage others, lending a helping hand or serving as a role model, Erin’s accomplishments and character are an inspiration to all. (read more)

(AP)- For $5.89, anyone can taste how Erin Hamlin was immortalized.  Vanilla ice cream, stacked with Reese’s peanut butter cups, Oreos and hot fudge, topped with whipped cream and a cherry. In the sleepy village of

Remsen, N.Y., pop. 514, that’s how homage was paid to a local who stunned the luge world — the World Champion Erin Hamlin Sundae, a popular item at The Soda Fountain in town.”It’s very good,” Hamlin said.  Sweet, too.

After all, it marks the sweetest moment of Hamlin’s luge career — an 80 mph trip down an ice-coated mountainside track that carried the American who turned 23 on Thursday to a place many thought impossible to reach.

She beat the unbeatable Germans for a gold medal in the world championships.  “A miracle,” said USA Luge executive director Ron Rossi. (read more)

World champion from Remsen ready to race for a spot in 2010 Olympic Games (Observer-Dispatch)

Erin Hamlin is a quiet champion. Or maybe she doesn’t like how she looks in yellow.  The week after Hamlin’s stunning World Luge Championship victory in February on her home track in Lake Placid, Hamlin earned the right to wear a special piece of equipment.

A yellow competition bib, the color worn by the world champion, was ready for Hamlin in Calgary. The luge world champion and World Cup series points leader wear different color bibs to distinguish them from the field.

Hamlin did not want to stand out. The 22-year-old Remsen woman, aiming for the U.S. Olympic team this fall, is competitive but not boastful.

USA Luge teammate Ashley Walden noticed Hamlin’s unease with the bib, and encouraged her to put it on.“I am not sure about Erin being reluctant about putting on the bib,” Walden wrote in an e-mail, “But she is shy, and I remember that she was nervous to put on the bib the first time because it stood out.”

Next week, Hamlin returns to Calgary with the U.S. Senior National Team for the start of the 2009-2010 World Cup season.

Hamlin is exempt from team qualifying because of her results last season. With fewer than 100 days until the Winter Olympics, Hamlin’s goal is completing her qualifying to compete on the fast track in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, outside of Vancouver.

Hamlin finalizes her trip to the Olympics with a top-five finish at any of the first four World Cup series races: Calgary; Igls, Austria; Altenberg, Germany; and Lillehammer, Norway.

The level-headed Hamlin is not going to change how she approaches early races because of Olympic qualifying. (read more)