Article: Star techs: They beam the athletes on board

Star techs: They beam the athletes on board

By A. CRAIG COPETAS

Bloomberg News

Sunday, February 17, 2002

Park City, Utah -- Behind a muddy snow bank far from the pageantry of the 2002 Winter Games, Chaka dons a gas mask before sprinkling a bit of white powder in his palm.

"This is very delicate work," he says, his voice muffled. "One mistake and we're toast."

The air is noxious from a heap of $400-a-pound bubbling wax that Chaka massages into the elaborately decorated wood and fiberglass plank he has balanced across his knees. Then he fine- tunes the bindings that a few hours later will whoosh snowboarder Kelly Clark to America's first gold medal at the Olympics.

So let's hear it for Michael ...

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