The Olympics! A mini photo essay from Whistler.

Last week, I took a short break from reading applications with the excuse, "My friends from Dartmouth are racing in the Olympics!" I gathered with other Dartmouth alums to watch Sara Studebaker '07 and Laura Spector '10 race in the women's 4x6km biathlon race. We also caught up with Ben Koons '08 and Tucker Murphy '06 (two more Dartmouth grads turned Olympic skiiers), who gave us a tour of the athlete village. Here are a few photos from our amazing trip:

(photo 1) Seven friends from Dartmouth met in Whistler. (2) The weather was awesome and we cheered loudly for Team USA in several skiing and biathlon events. (3) Canadian kids requested an autograph from Tucker Murphy '06. (4) We got all decked out for the biathlon relay. Go TEAM USA! And Dartmouth! (5) Sara Studebaker '07 shoots cleanly in leg one of the relay. (6) Post-race congrats to Sara!

We weren't the only Dartmouth fans at the Winter Olympics. We ran into bundles of friends that made the trip to Vancouver and Whistler to cheer on the 9 athletes from Dartmouth competing in the winter games. Two athletes from my class -- Gillian Apps '06 and Cherie Piper '06 -- took GOLD in women's ice hockey, and Andrew Weibrecht '09 skiied to a bronze medal in the men's super-G alpine race.

The whole trip a truly incredible experience. The pinnacle was watching Sara at the start of the women's biathlon race. Even thinking back on the moment gives me chills; it was such a magical experience to watch my friends and classmates compete in the Olympics.

P.S. If you want to read more about Dartmouth athletes in Vancouver, check out this link. Dartmouth has an impressive tradition with the Winter Olympics. Since 1924, Dartmouth athletes have appeared in the Winter Olympics 120 times--more than any other Ivy League school.