News Release

Bob Costas: There is the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. One such story of heartbreak comes to us from Fly Creek, New York where Olympian Kate Hackelberg, after 17 days of struggle, fell just shy of gold. Here to tell us her story in her own words...Kate Hackelberg...

Welcome to the studio, Kate.

Me: Thanks Bob, it's an honor to be here.

Bob: Now, your event was the...knit sweater?

Me: That's right Bob.

Bob: Now, for those viewers at home who may not be familiar with the sport of Olympic Knitting, can you tell us a little bit of how it differs from the Knitting many of us are accustomed to seeing practiced in our living rooms?

Me: Sure, Bob. Many people are used to seeing knitting practiced as a hobby, at various skill levels, with a wide range of goals. Olympic Knitting takes that hobby and cranks it up a few notches by imposing two rules: you must knit a challenging project and you must knit between the flames.

Bob: So there's a certain amount of subjectivity in the judging?

Me: Oh no no! It's very cut and dry. Either you finish your challenge before the flame goes out or you don't. There's no silver or bronze in the Knitting Olympics; only gold.

Bob: How did you decide on your challenge?

Me: Well, I've been knitting quite a while and in that time, I've completed a number of projects of various sizes and skill levels so I figured I would try a sweater. I chose the featherweight cardigan by Hannah Fetig. I knew that it would be a challenge to do so much knitting in the time frame, but it was a very simple pattern so I thought it would be doable.

Bob: And yet, you're here today with no gold medal. What went wrong?

Kate: Bob, I think it was hubris.

Bob: Hmmm.

Me: The more I thought about it, the less challenging the pattern seemed. I mean, when you're in the company of Olympians, it's hard not to compare yourself to them and the fearless leader of the Knitting Olympians, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, was knitting Whistler, a brilliant 4 color Norwegian style sweater. Next to that the Featherweight Cardigan seemed like a piece of cake. So in the beginning, there were nights I didn't even work on the sweater. Of course, I regret that now.

Bob: Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but if you knew then what you know now...what would you have done differently?

Me: Unfortunately, Bob, all of my issues came down to poor planning, rather than equipment failure or lack of training. Can't fault the yarn or the pattern here! I would have tried harder to write a reliable schedule. I didn't realistically think about how long the sections would take, but if I had, I would have known on day 5 whether I was behind schedule and would have been able to put in a few late nights early on, instead of being completely out of time in the last few days.

Bob: Well, it seems you've taken a lot of good lessons from these Olympic games. Will we see you back on the course in 2014?

Me: Absolutely, Bob. And next time I'll be coming for gold!

Bob: Alright, we'll be keeping an eye out for you. It's be a pleasure to have you with us today, Kate, and best of luck in your future knitting endeavors.

Kate: Thanks so much for having me on, Bob.

Bob: So many stories have come out of Vancouver, some of glory, some of disappointment, but regardless of the outcome, these Olympians have given their all. They strive to knit swifter, higher, stronger, and we all learn from their efforts. From all of us at the studio...goodnight.