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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Olympic silver medalist Noelle Pikus-Pace returned home Wednesday following a very successful Olympics in Sochi, Russia. A few hundred people gathered in her neighborhood to greet her with flags, signs and much celebration.
It was late afternoon when Pikus-Pace’s flight landed in Salt Lake City. If she was tired after her long trip, she certainly didn't show it. In fact, she was ecstatic about the Eagle Mountain homecoming that awaited her.
“They lined the streets,” she said. “Flags were everywhere, all over our lawn. This has been absolutely incredible.”
Nearly two weeks ago, Pikus-Pace ended a long skeleton racing career by crossing the finish line with a time that earned her the silver medal in the Sochi Winter Olympics. It was a memorable moment she wanted to share with everyone.
“It was a perfect ending to this journey,” Pikus-Pace said Wednesday. “I mean, you think about things that led us to this point, and looking back now there’s no other way I would have wanted to spend those first moments as a silver medalist.”
As part of the wecome home celebration, the Olympian and her family were taken by fire truck from their house to a nearby school. There, crowds of screaming fans waited with signs and cellphones ready to capture the moment — and this time it wouldn’t be from the TV screen.
“She goes and races, and the whole neighborhood roots for her,” said Nathan Perry, an Eagle Mountain resident.
Pikus-Pace was nothing short of thankful for their support. She said her friends and family at home and her strong faith are what kept her mind calm and focused at the start of each race.
“(We were) putting our faith first and foremost in our Heavenly Father, we couldn’t have done it without his help,” she told the crowd. “We couldn’t have done it without yours.”
But even without a medal, Pikus-Pace said her final Olympics would have felt complete; having her family there rooting for her meant everything.
“Knowing that they were going to be there at the bottom of the finish line, I was able to say, ‘Hey, no matter where I finish I can go home and have my family by my side,’ ” Pikus-Pace said.
The Olympian is now planning to retire from the sport she loves. After years of competition, and the fame that came with it, her friends say she's the same girl today as she was before: classy, graceful and a positive example.
