Ohio State has been in the news recently for holding an international town meeting, winning the 1997 Rose Bowl Championship and being the Alma Mater to Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George.But this quarter, an Olympic silver medalist is calling OSU home.Gordy Sheer, 26, is a member of the U.S. luge silver medal team and a communications major at OSU. Sheer, originally from Croton, N.Y., has been attending OSU since 1991 and is surprised at the way people have reacted since he won his medal.”This is the first time anyone knew I did this and I’ve been to three Olympics,” Sheer said. “I even received a letter from President Kirwan congratulating me on my medal.”The luge is an event in which athletes slide on a one or two-person sled feet first while lying on their backs, Sheer said. The key to a successful run is to have a good start and control the sled while picking up speed.Sheer and Chris Thorpe, his luge partner of ten years, made Olympic history this winter when they won the United States its first medal in the luge.Sheer and Thorpe won the silver, while fellow teammates Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin won the bronze. The gold medal went to the German team.Sheer became interested in the luge 14 years ago while on a family ski trip in Lake Placid, N.Y. “I saw a van drive by with the number to the U.S. Luge Association on it and decided to call,” said Sheer.When Sheer reached the eighth-grade, he became more dedicated to the sport and left school for two months to train. By the time he was a junior in high school, he was spending about five months on the road.Sheer and Thorpe spend many months every year training.”Most people think I hibernate in non-Olympic years,” Sheer said. “I spend a lot of time [training] in Europe.”Sheer and his partner placed 12th in the 1992 Olympics and 5th in the 1994 Olympics, according to the U.S. Luge Association.”I was surprised at how well we did in Nagano,” Sheer said. “Compared to the awful season we had and the fact that Chris broke his wrist in January, which slowed down our start.” With two medals, the United States is starting to get recognized as a competitor in the luge.”Ten years ago they thought we were a joke, until we started beating [Europeans],” Sheer said.Sheer doesn’t know if he will continue competing. He doesn’t plan to compete in the 2002 Olympics.”I might stay competitive for one more year,” Sheer said. “There are people who still compete in their thirties.”