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| Olympic dreams shattered |
| SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH--The world's best have come to Utah for the XIX Winter Olympics. Robert Waldman, 32, is not one of them. Waldman is outside of the gates for the third straight Olympiad. "Hot dog vending is a lot harder than it looks," said Waldman. "On TV you always see those guys who just 'HOT DOG' and people buy them right up. It's a lot harder than that. "At times you have to juggle the money, the condiments and even the dogs," he said. |
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| Waldman (center) is outside the gates of the Winter Olympics. He failed to quailfy for the third time. |
| He lost his balance in the finals of the agility portion of the competition. He lost in the all-around by .12 points to heavy favorite Jim Bergo. "I don't mind losing, but it had to be Jim who won," said Waldman. "Between you and me, the guy's an ass." Going to the Olympics has been one of Waldman's life goals. "It's not like I couldn't have turned pro straight out of college," he said. "The Timerwolves wanted me. The Texas Rangers offered me a postion. Hell, I had an offer from the Lakers. Now what do I have? Nothing. "This sucks," he said. Waldman was attempting to follow in his Grandfather "Pops" Waldman's footsteps. "In 1960, Pops was in Squaw Valley, Calf.," said Waldman. "He was the best, and I wanted to be the best." |
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| (Fish Wrap file photo) |
| "Pops" Waldman shortly before the 1960 Winter Olympics. |
| As for the future, Waldman is still undecided about finally turning pro. "You know, I've waited this long," he said. "What not another four years? I'm not really sure. I will definatly have a press conference to announce my decision later this month." Jim Bergo, the reigning US Hot Dog Champion, thinks Waldman's time is up. "His prime was in Lillehammer (1994)," he said. "I honestly didn't think that he would try out again for Nagano, but he did." |
| "It would be asinie for me to give up all my hard work," he said. "Sure I could get paid the big bucks in the pros, but there's nothing like the spirt of the Olympic games. "Of course I've never been inside the stadium," admitted Waldman. "But it's pretty cool out here so I can't imagine the energy inside." |
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| Waldman failed to quailfy in the US Championships in Flordia back in December. |
| For now, Waldman will tend the streets and contuine his amateur status. |
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