U.S. luger’s response to 14th-place finish is absolute gold

Team USA luger Summer Britcher may not have earned gold or any medal in the women’s singles luge at the Milan Cortina Olympics in Italy on Tuesday, but the attitude she showed after the event shone brighter than any result.

While the 31-year-old Britcher finished 14th out of 20 participants in the event with a time of 3:33.553, she would have won a gold medal for handling an unfavorable result—if such an award existed.

“I’m proud of the work that I put in to get here,” Britcher said, via Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. “A year ago, no one would have guessed that I would have even had a chance at a medal, so to be standing here heartbroken is a privilege.”

Athletes have different ways of dealing with failure, and Britcher, who is from Glen Rock, Pa., showed hers by simply not taking her appearance in the event for granted, regardless of the circumstances.

Germany’s Julia Taubitz bagged the gold with a time of 3:30.625, while Latvian Elena Bota’s 3:31.543 was good enough for the silver. Saving the U.S. from a podium shutout was Ashley Farquharson, who took the bronze with a timed finish of 3:31.582.