Harry is third from the left with fellow Olympians from Team Australia.
Harry Laidlaw ’14 competed in his first Olympics in Pyeongchang representing his home country of Australia.
Below is a short summary of his experience that he shared with the BMA community.
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Hello Burkies:
The Olympics was a crazy time for me. It was tough going in with a bad back injury but the people I met and the different culture I got to experience overrode all the disappointment I had towards my events.
I was curious going to South Korea with all that was happening in the world. I thought it would be quite tense but instead, it was very much the opposite. Seeing all the countries unite together was definitely a highlight of the trip.
There were so many moments where countries were hyped for others even though they didn’t get the gold. I even saw the North Korean cheerleading squad cheering for the US. It was cool to see and I’m super grateful I got to be a part of it.
After my events were done, I wanted to experience as much of Korea as I could. Given that most of the team members were pretty experienced surfers, as soon as they got word there were waves close by they organized a day trip within a couple days. It was super fun but insanely cold! They were saying the water was 4 degrees c, so I don’t think I will ever say I surfed in 4-degree water again!
Harry
