{"id":3655,"date":"2022-02-04T11:42:50","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T16:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steamboatsir.com\/blog\/?p=3655"},"modified":"2022-02-04T11:42:50","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T16:42:50","slug":"flying-solo-for-taylor-fletcher-the-2022-winter-olympics-is-a-road-less-traveled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/2022\/02\/04\/flying-solo-for-taylor-fletcher-the-2022-winter-olympics-is-a-road-less-traveled\/","title":{"rendered":"FLYING SOLO: FOR TAYLOR FLETCHER, THE 2022 WINTER OLYMPICS IS A ROAD LESS TRAVELED"},"content":{"rendered":"

The third time might be a charm for Nordic Combined USA Ski Team member Taylor Fletcher, but his first Winter Olympics without his brother Bryan by his side is a whole new experience. \u201cWhen Bryan retired, it was definitely a big change for me,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cNot only because he\u2019s my brother, but he\u2019s the best teammate you could ask for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The brothers have been training side by side for two decades and competed in two Olympics together, in 2018 and 2014. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely hard without him here,\u201d Taylor continues. \u201cWe were always the siblings that bickered and pushed each other, and that benefitted both of us. Our results speak for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if they\u2019re not physically together, Taylor says he\u2019s been in constant communication with his brother all season leading up to the Olympics. \u201cI still want to know what he thinks, and we\u2019re still bickering to this day. But it\u2019s definitely weird not having him on the circuit. Going into the Olympics without him is hard, just because competing together has been the norm for us for so long,\u201d he says. On top of the pressure of Taylor\u2019s solo mission is the added stress of the pandemic, including having to compete without any spectators to cheer him on.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Still, Bryan isn\u2019t too worried about his younger brother. The 35-year-old has settled down with his wife and two kids in Heber City, Utah and remains characteristically positive and optimistic. \u201cLooking at the sport now from the outside makes me appreciate what an amazing opportunity it is to compete at this level. I\u2019ve tried to help Taylor understand that, despite the pressure he is under. I try to guide him as much as possible and to remind him to continue having as much fun as the day we started.\u201d<\/p>\n

That day was literally a lifetime ago for the Steamboat-born brothers, who fell in love with ski jumping when they were four years old. Growing up in Steamboat where the 90-meter ski jump dominates the landscape, not only in downtown but in filling the minds of aspiring young athletes with dreams of competing in the Olympics, the Fletcher brothers\u2019 fate was sealed before they were old enough to enter grade school. Ultimately it would be Nordic Combined, a sport that involves ski jumping and cross-country skiing, that was a natural fit for both boys. They both craved the competition of racing (against each other and whoever else happened to be in the field), but even more importantly, they both loved to fly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up in Steamboat with those jumps right downtown, it was the biggest thing in the world to me. All I wanted to do was hit those jumps, and from day one I was hooked,\u201d Bryan says. \u201cThe feeling is just like flying. It\u2019s the best feeling and it\u2019s what keeps us wanting more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor is a little more philosophical about taking flight. \u201cYou have a fraction of a second to get it right or it\u2019s game over. The more you try, the more likely you are to mess it up,\u201d he says, \u201cPeople compare it to swinging a golf club. It\u2019s a very simple sport, but it can also be the most frustrating thing in the world. \u201c<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For Bryan, ski jumping and skiing were what got him through years of chemotherapy treatments when he was diagnosed with leukemia at three years old, a prospect his doctors weren\u2019t too thrilled about but a passion that his parents knew was vital for his survival. For Taylor, it was about chasing his big brother around. \u201cI grew up idolizing Bryan and wanted to do everything he wanted to do, so basically my path was set. I just followed him.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time in his life, Taylor has also had to overcome several challenges on his own in the last few years, including losing their father, Tim Fletcher, to ALS in 2018. \u201cLosing my father is something I struggle with every single day. It put me in a tough place mentally.\u201d Taylor credits his crew and staff for their support. \u201cIf anything, I know my Dad wanted me to continue skiing, and more importantly to enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Today, at 32, Taylor finds himself on the Olympic stage for the first time on his own. Maybe that is why his priorities have shifted from beating his brother and winning a medal to competing for himself. \u201cKnowing this could be my last Olympics, I\u2019m just allowing myself to have as much fun as possible, and ironically, it\u2019s allowing me to do better.\u201d Bryan remains hopeful that it could be his brother\u2019s best Olympics yet. \u201cAnything can happen with this Olympics,\u201d Bryan says. \u201cWith the strides Taylor has made in the last of couple months, anything is possible.\u201d Maybe for Taylor, the road less traveled is the one that leads to gold.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The third time might be a charm for Nordic Combined USA Ski Team member Taylor Fletcher, but his first Winter Olympics without his brother Bryan by his side is a whole new experience. \u201cWhen Bryan retired, it was definitely a big change for me,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cNot only because he\u2019s my brother, but he\u2019s the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64295786,"featured_media":3663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfNAsR-WX","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Fletchers.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64295786"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}