Who needs Captain America? We've got Chris Mazdzer!
American Chris Mazdzer made history on Sunday at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea when he took the silver medal in men's single luge—a first for the U.S. since the event's inception as an Olympic game in 1964.
The 29-year-old from Massachusetts completed his run a mere .026 seconds behind Austrian gold medalist, David Gleirscher. His win, coupled with his rugged good looks and affable smile, has triggered an eruption of fandom—a phenomenon perhaps best summed up by Global reporter Laura Kramer's characterization of him as "the internet's husband."
You can watch Mazdzer's superb silver medal run in men's singles luge run on NBC:
Fans can't get enough:
It's important to note, that though Mazdzer is the first American to win in men's singles luge, he is not the first U.S. singles luge medalist. In 2014, Erin Hamlin won the bronze in women's singles, as Matt on Twitter pointed out:
An Olympic game long dominated by Germany, Mazdzer was actually poised to bring home the bronze medal when German luger Felix Loch, two-time defending gold medalist, faltered at the crucial "curve 9" eliminating his chance at the podium, and propelling Mazdzer to the silver.
Here's Loch's final run followed by the moment Mazdzer realizes he's won the silver:
Following the race, Mazdzer told NBC's Lewis Johnson:
I had to go through those runs to be comfortable with who I am without results. Basically, as a human, I'm comfortable with where I am. I know what I can do; I know what I can give to the world. I was just so relaxed just knowing that and was really at peace with myself.
For those who don't follow the sport, singles luge is a timed event where the fastest time wins. Competitors must navigate down a narrow winding track at extremely high speeds for four different runs. The times of all four runs are added together and the luger with the shortest time overall wins—a thousandths of a second can make all the difference.
Amazingly, the best Mazdzer had ever done before in the winter Olympics was 13th place.
Love and adoration:
Even comedian Leslie Jones got in on the action:
Message to Chris Mazdzer: This week the silver medal, next week the Wheaties box.
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