Chasing a golden dream

Hamlet Nalbandyan

GLENDALE -- Dan Janjigian and Yorgo Alexandrou have fought an uphill

battle to get to where they are. It’s nothing but downhill from here.

The San Jose men, both 29 and born and raised in America, are chasing

a dream that has gotten them more than $200,000 in debt -- and landed

them a spot in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

A spot for Armenia, that is.

Janjigian and Alexandrou are the two-man Armenian Bobsled Team, which

recently qualified for the Winter Olympic Games in the final run of the

final race of the America’s Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y. The Winter Olympics

start Feb. 8.

They are just the second Armenian bobsledding team to compete in the

Olympics, and are two-thirds of the entire Armenian Olympic squad. The

third member is a skier.

The first bobsled team, Joseph Almasian and Ken Topalian, finished

36th out of 42 teams in the 1994 Games in Lillehamer, Norway.

Janjigian and Alexandrou don’t figure to win a medal, but that’s never

been their intent.

“You have to love this sport to do it,” Janjigian said. “Nobody else

is crazy enough to do what we’ve done. But we’re not going to stop here.

We want to keep working hard and hopefully go for the gold in 2006.”

Bobsledding isn’t cheap, and Janjigian and Alexandrou are finding that

out the hard way.

That’s why the two were in Glendale on Friday, appearing on local

Armenian TV stations in hopes of raising money to pay off the debts that

come with four years of chasing a dream. Janjigian even mortgaged his

house.

“There are no rich bobsledders out there,” he said. “The expenses are

never-ending. Like shipping our sled to wherever we’re going costs $1,000

each way.”

In addition to financial obstacles, Janjigian and Alexandrou have had

other road blocks along the way. Like the fact that Alexandrou, the brake

man, isn’t really Armenian. He’s Greek.

So, just like Janjigian, Alexandrou had to get dual citizenship from

Armenia.

“I’m extremely proud to represent Armenia,” said Alexandrou, who had

never bobsledded until he came aboard in October. “I want people to know

who we are and to know who Armenians are.”

HOW TO HELP

To donate money to the Armenian bobsled team, send a check to the

Armenian International Sports Foundation at 21301 Columbus Ave., Cupertino, Calif., 95014, or visit www.bobsledder.com.