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.

*********

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