Chad Salmela and his wife, Mimmu, of Duluth won't be seeing much of each other for the next week during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Each is representing a media outlet -- Chad with NBC TV and Mimmu with KUMD Radio -- and will be busy providing event coverage and Minnesota-connected features. Both also were involved with the last two Olympics.
Chad, 38, St. Scholastica's Nordic ski coach, worked with NBC at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, and was the biathlon chief of competition and stadium announcer at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Mimmu, 35, was chief of athlete services at the hockey venue in Turin, and was a media steward in Salt Lake, gathering quotes for reporters at the women's hockey venue.
"It was a big honor for me to have NBC call and ask me to audition and work again. I'm excited about being part of the world's biggest sporting event," Chad Salmela said.
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He'll provide commentary for biathlon (Nordic skiing and rifle marksmanship) and Nordic ski events, working with longtime announcer Al Trautwig, 62, best-known for coverage of the Tour de France. Salmela, a 1998 U.S. Olympic biathlon candidate, expects to be on one of NBC's networks daily, sometimes twice a day, starting Saturday with women's biathlon.
Mimmu Salmela works as KUMD's development director and pitched the idea of going to the Winter Games and providing updates with a Minnesota flavor. Her reports, which began Wednesday, are
9 a.m. Monday through Friday through Feb. 18. When she returns home, Cory Salmela of Duluth, Chad's brother and a former U.S. biathlon coach, will provide KUMD's updates from Feb. 19-28.
"I'll have my tape recorder and talk to as many people as I can," said Mimmu Salmela, a former Minnesota Duluth women's hockey player and coach, and a native of Finland. "I don't have full press credentials, but I have some connections, and will just try to have fun giving our listeners an idea of what it's like to be at an Olympics."
She'll also fill the role of mother. Her 1-year-old son, Taavi, will be fitted into a backpack with wheels, and be a constant companion. Salmela's report Thursday was on Minnesota Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, who was featured in Sports Illustrated this week and found out a shin injury could keep her from competing. Today, Salmela talks with U.S. men's curling skip John Shuster of Duluth. The opening ceremonies are 6:30 p.m. today.
At the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, she was in charge of 30 volunteers who took care of all hockey-playing needs, including laundry and coffee making. She said one of the highlights was talking with Canadian general manager Wayne Gretzky.
Chad Salmela started his part-time broadcast career providing biathlon commentary on what was the Outdoor Live Network (now Versus). At the 2006 Winter Games, he did biathlon coverage with Len Berman. In preparation for 2010, he worked 10-12 FIS Nordic ski races for Universal Sports (an arm of NBC) and some biathlon World Cup races.
"My job is to give insight on the athletes and present the sports in the best possible light," said Salmela, a United States athlete services coordinator at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. "You won't get rich doing this, but it's something I enjoy. If I found out this was the last time I'd be working an Olympics, I could live with that, but I'd like to do it for another 15 or 20 years."
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WATCH IT
Opening ceremonies begin tonight at 6:30 p.m. on KBJR-TV, Charter Channel 5.
