Michelle Gorgone is a snowboarding athlete competing at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Four years after being a forerunner on the parallel giant slalom course at the Salt Lake Games, Michelle Gorgone qualified for her first Olympics in Torino. "Probably my favorite Olympic memory [from Torino] was the Opening Ceremonies," she says. "The snowboarders and the women's ice hockey team—we were both kind of vying for being the last person to run into the stadium. I don't know why everyone wants
In August 2004, Gorgone—who holds a reputation as the premier singer on the U.S. snowboarding team—decided to try out for American Idol when auditions were held in Boston (Gorgone hails from Sudbury, Massacusetts). "Me and my brother were actually on our way out to go out and meet some friends, and we hear it on the radio," she recalls. "My brother just spun a U-turn and he's like: 'We're going to Foxboro Stadium. We're going to go—you're going to go try out for American Idol.' So we stopped by the house, got sleeping bags. Ended up sleeping in the car all night. Got there at midnight, and I didn't sing until six o clock the next night." Though the tryout was memorable in the wrong way ("My voice cracked and I threw my hood over my head," Gorgone says), she puts a positive spin on it by adding, "at least I could say I did it."
Gorgone's nickname is "Pirelli," after the racing tires. She says that when she was born, her parents didn't know what to name her. A commercial for Michelin tires came on TV, and her mom suggested that they name the new child "Michelin." Her father refused to have his daughter named after a tire, so the couple compromised—her first and middle names are Michelle Lynn. A coach later heard this story and decided that she should not be named after a French tire company. Since she was fast and Italian, her nickname became "Pirelli."
Coming from the Boston area, Gorgone is an avid Red Sox fan but had to follow much of Boston's 2004 playoff run on the Internet while competing in Europe. She did return home in time for the World Series and remembers the moments after Boston's victory vividly. "I was at my friend's apartment—I actually live in that apartment now," Gorgone says. "But she lives a couple of blocks from Fenway. And we were standing with our hands on the doorknob waiting for the final out. And then as soon as they won the game we opened the door, ran downstairs and just sprinted to Fenway. And we were just in the party conga line."
Four years after being a forerunner on the parallel giant slalom course at the Salt Lake Games, Michelle Gorgone qualified for her first Olympics in Torino. "Probably my favorite Olympic memory [from Torino] was the Opening Ceremonies," she says. "The snowboarders and the women's ice hockey team—we were both kind of vying for being the last person to run into the stadium. I don't know why everyone wants
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to be last. But for some reason we wanted to be last, so everyone's walking really slow, and we're trying to be the last ones to go in. And I think the women's ice hockey team gave up because they just ended up marching in, and we hung back for a little while and then just ran full-bore like: Yeah! And we're running, kind of trying to steal the show—I don't know, acting like idiots. But it was fun." Gorgone, who had finished 11th at the 2005 World Championships, placed 22nd at her Olympic debut in Torino.In August 2004, Gorgone—who holds a reputation as the premier singer on the U.S. snowboarding team—decided to try out for American Idol when auditions were held in Boston (Gorgone hails from Sudbury, Massacusetts). "Me and my brother were actually on our way out to go out and meet some friends, and we hear it on the radio," she recalls. "My brother just spun a U-turn and he's like: 'We're going to Foxboro Stadium. We're going to go—you're going to go try out for American Idol.' So we stopped by the house, got sleeping bags. Ended up sleeping in the car all night. Got there at midnight, and I didn't sing until six o clock the next night." Though the tryout was memorable in the wrong way ("My voice cracked and I threw my hood over my head," Gorgone says), she puts a positive spin on it by adding, "at least I could say I did it."
Gorgone's nickname is "Pirelli," after the racing tires. She says that when she was born, her parents didn't know what to name her. A commercial for Michelin tires came on TV, and her mom suggested that they name the new child "Michelin." Her father refused to have his daughter named after a tire, so the couple compromised—her first and middle names are Michelle Lynn. A coach later heard this story and decided that she should not be named after a French tire company. Since she was fast and Italian, her nickname became "Pirelli."
Coming from the Boston area, Gorgone is an avid Red Sox fan but had to follow much of Boston's 2004 playoff run on the Internet while competing in Europe. She did return home in time for the World Series and remembers the moments after Boston's victory vividly. "I was at my friend's apartment—I actually live in that apartment now," Gorgone says. "But she lives a couple of blocks from Fenway. And we were standing with our hands on the doorknob waiting for the final out. And then as soon as they won the game we opened the door, ran downstairs and just sprinted to Fenway. And we were just in the party conga line."
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