FacetiMe
Tucker Murphy ’99
Winter Olympian Tucker Murphy ’99, 28, spoke with Alumni Horae about his experience in Vancouver, where he placed 88th in the Men’s 15K Free Individual Start Nordic ski event at the XXI Winter Games. He also discussed his humble beginnings as a skier from Bermuda trying to embrace New England winters. The 2005 Rhodes Scholar is in the midst of completing a doctorate in zoology at Oxford University. Murphy graduated from St. Paul’s magna cum laude with distinction in humanities, mathematics, and science. He went on to study and ski at Dartmouth College.
Q
How did you get your start in Nordic?
A I grew up in Bermuda and had not really seenmuch snow. I had been to theU.S. a few times, but skiing was never something I considered too much. To tell the truth, I didn’t really like winter when I arrived atSt. Paul’s and I guess I was tempted to hibernate, to stay indoors, but my parents’ advice was to go out and embrace thewinter.That led me to try skiing thefirst winter. The second winter I went out for basketball, got cut, and went back to skiing.
Q
At what point did you realize you had a future in the sport?
A I deferred Dartmouth and wasnot recruited as a Nordic skier. I actually was supposed to row there and realized during that year off that I liked skiing better and wanted to try and make the ski team. I went out freshman year and didn’t make it off the development team until my senior year when I made it into the carnival races. That was my goal – to try to get on the team for a few races, and after that I thought life would move on.
Q What is the reaction when you tell people you are a Bermudian skier?
A It is a great surprise to most people. I tell them I went to school in the U.S. and that’s howit all began. [SPS Nordic ski coach Toby] Brewster was always extremely encouraging. He had gone to Dartmouth as well. This all would have been very unlikely without SPS.
Q To what do you attribute your success in this “winter” sport?
A Winter is much easier when you’re out there in it. I went on to England [as a Rhodes Scholar from Bermuda] for a few years after college and it snowed two days in the whole three years I was there. I went skiing both times and those were very memorable
days, exciting days. It was the only time you could ski on their lawn –usually you can’t even walk on the grass. It changed the skiing entirely. Those were two exciting days that made me yearn to go back to winter.
Q How did you qualify for the Vancouver Olympics?
A I needed five races under 300 FIS [Fédération Internationale de Ski] points and also needed to ski in the World Championships in the Czech Republic in February 2009. I got the points I needed, based on where I placed (41st in the 10K classic qualification race).
Q Had there been winter Olympians from Bermuda before you?
A
There have been two winter Olympians before: Simon Payne in luge and Patrick Singleton in luge and skeleton.
Q You carried the flag for Bermuda in Vancouver, quite an honor . . .
A It was like no other experience I’ve had. It’s hard to describe.
Q Can you describe the atmospherein the Olympic Village?
A Wonderful. The greatest appeal was there were so many people from different parts of the world and they view the experience a bit differently. I shared a wax cabin with the Moldovans.
Q What does your future hold?
A I’m in the midst of a Ph.D., studying zoology. The immediate future is to go back to Oxford and finish up my doctorate in mountain lion-human conflict. Until then, I am in Stowe, Vt., training for skiing with the Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club. I hope to continue skiing. I love the sport and will continue it whether I continue competing or not. I haven’t decided that yet.