‪Olympic Games‬, ‪Shiva Keshavan‬, ‪ ‪Summer Britcher‬, ‪India‬,

Shiva's tale: Indian luger preps for 6th Olympic trip

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - (AP) - Shiva Keshavan is probably not going to medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics.

That does not make him irrelevant

His name got heard globally once every four years, because of his story: A guy from India, where there is no great winter sports legacy to speak, goes to the Olympics - in Luge of all things When he competes in Pyeongchang, it will be his sixth and almost certainly the final time as an Olympian. He's never finished better than 25th at an Olympics, and he will not be considered a podium contender this February.

Ask him if it was worth it, and he does not hesitate before saying yes

"I did not do this for other people to look at my story," Keshavan said. "I did it for myself. I did it myself improve and I feel that I've come a long way. to do that. And, well, if other people look at me, I know they'll respect me for what I did. "

Keshavan was disappointed by the sled problems and finished 31st in a 35-stage nation cup event on Thursday night at Mount Van Hoevenberg, meaning he will not be competing in Friday's World Cup event. Only the top 15 from the Nations Cup advanced

But that does not deter him, and never has Keshavan's attitude has been infectious among other sliders for years, and it's clear he'll miss it - as he expects - is the end of his Olympic Journey.

"It's really kind of like a community that you're a part of, and it's something that's really hard to let go," said longtime USA Luge slider Chris Mazdzer, one of the many on the luge circuit who is a good friend to Keshavan. "It is a lot of fun traveling, competing all around the world with a great group of people."

Keshavan is kind of an unofficial member of many national teams.

Keshavan calls Lake Placid his home track, even though it's 7,000 miles from the Himalayan region that is his actual home. When he finished his race Thursday night, Australians and Ukrainians were among the first to offer him words of congratulations. And last week Keshavan got help from a Croatian just so he could compete.

Shiva Keshavan, of India, takes a curve in

Keshavan's sled broke, so Daria Obratov offered hers It was way too small for Keshavan, and not exactly contoured for him, but he used it in the Nations Cup race in Calgary, Alberta - which essentially clinched his spot for Pyeongchang.

"Although we represent different countries, the Olympic spirit knows no boundaries," Obradovic said.

Keshavan made his Olympic debut as a 16-year-old at Nagano in 1998, when he placed 28th. He's been an Olympic regular since, placing 33rd in Salt Lake City in 2002, 25th at Turin in 2006, 29th at Vancouver in 2010 and 37th at Sochi four winters ago.

He's always been somewhere around five or 10 seconds behind the gold medalists in the final Olympic standings He comes too close to World Cup races, where sliders compete in two runs instead of the Olympic four. And he has not exploited the system - even though he's not exactly an Olympic medalist, he is a competitor.

Besides, he'll be a six-time Olympian. That's more of a legacy than ever envisioned.

"I gave my best," Keshavan said. "Maybe that's the thing I want to be remembered for: He gave his best and he never gave up."