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INLINE Magazine Articles
Table Of Contents:
1- Athlete in Limbo, Aug/Sept. 1992, p. 42,43
Meet a Russian skater in Holland who's struggling to survive on talent alone. A sixth
world citizen, skater X is desperately trying to prolong his stay in the promised
land of skating as his native country crumbles around him.
2- Going Dutch November 1992 p. 26-31
Eddy's narration of his trip to Holland is an odyssey in the classic sense - a voyage
of discovery into himself and into the world of skeelerrijden,
or in-line skate racing. Although it's barely half the size of the state of South
Carolina, Holland has assumed a role in the development of in-line skate racing inversely
proportional to its size.
3- Eddy Matzger's
Final Countdown July 1993 p.13
For the uninitiated, a 10K race isn't an event - it's a final exam, a cumulative test
of physical and mental preparation with its own set of do's and dont's. For more
seasoned racers, final preparation for a 10K consists of liberal rest and some extra
attention to equipment and nutrition. Eddy gives his own checklist.
4- IISA National Championships
New York and Downer's Grove November 1993
The IISA championships brightened in-line racing's future with two big features:
Money and media. The big bucks at stake created a stir, causing top names to descend
upon the competitions, which, in turn, drew the media like buzzards to a fresh kill.
The excitement made the participants extract the maximum effort from their bodies while
the cameras rolled and clicked.
5-The Dutch Are Coming December 1993 p. 41
The Dutch came to engage the Americans on our own soil in the Seeley Hills Classic,
a marathon test of fortitude in the north woods of Wisconsin. It was a skirmish that
pitted us against some of the biggest guns in in-line racing: Erik Hulzebosch, Haico
Bouma, Rene and Henri Ruitenberg, Edward Hagen and Dick Hoeve.
6- World Record Feb/March 1994 p. 39
It's gut wrencing to see the physical toll skating can exact on a body. Jonathan looks
as if he might have some vapor left in the tank - but his eyes are weary and he cringes
as he requires help to regain his feet. Kimberley is devastated: her legs have
given out completeley, socks glued to her feet with blood. Now it's my turn to be
the king of pain.
7- Training in Holland Apr/May 1994 p. 47
This particular trip to Holland has one singular bright spot: winning a marathon race
in Utrecht - an achievement that's been eluding me for two years. If I can just
sharpen up my technique some more, maybe soon I'll be able to give a scare to the
big boys as well.
8- The Gold Standard Jun/July 1994 p. 53
Koss performed feats of athleticism that defied apprehension at the Olympics in Lillehamar,
Norway. Koss captured the world's imagination by achieving something that embodies
everything about what being an athlete is all about. Reaching for that level of perfection is the reason we're all busy doing sports.
9- Racing in the Rain Aug/Sept. 1994 p. 19
My skate-parade just keeps getting peed on. Out of five races, three have been touched
by cloudscapes letting loose their liquid loads. At the Sea Otter, we squiggled like
salmon up the asphalt river seven times, 350 feet up and over a wall as steep as
a ladder. Seven times we surrendered ourselves to the swirling current and got borne
down a raging corkscrew cataract at 50 miles an hour.
10- How to Become a
Better Crossover Artist Oct/Nov. 1994 p. 46, 47
Crossovers, a necessary weapon in every skater's arsenal, were instrumental in helping
me to victory in both New York and Maine. In the New York race, crossover steps on
the straightaway allowed me to simultaneously navigate around my opponent and accelerate past him. In Maine, crossing over in the right-hand turns --not coasting through
them -- allowed me to gain speed and put time on my opponents.
11- Beating the Dutch
Dec/Jan. 1995
p. 53, 57
With half a lap to go, Ruitenberg stood up for a split second in a ritualistic jockeying
for position. I didn't play that game, pressing on without missing a beat. Not standing
up gave me a 20 foot lead, which ended up being enough to hold off a sprinting Ruitenberg at the line. When he came up from behind as if he were in the passing lane,
I found a gear I never knew I had.
12- The Longest, Hardest Race February 1995 p. 44-46
Getting wet should be the least of your concerns when even the biggest, baddest diehards feel
a knot of tension at the merest mention of the race. Competitors can expect 85 hilly
mile' worth of nerve-ending overload from legs deepfried in lactic acid and feet
rubbed as red and raw as tuna sushi. It's little wonder, then, that the Athens-to-Atlanta
ultramarathon has earned a reputation for being the world's longest, toughest, gnarliest
road race.
13- Monterey Pop June 1995 p. 42-46
Laguna Seca is easily the most technically challenging course I've ever skated, with
everything from flats to hills to hairpin turns. Its most notable features are linked:
a highly technical, nearly vertical decreasing-radius corkscrew turn may be the
track's most challenging feature, but racers must first climb 300 vertical feet just
to stand atop it.
14- The China Syndrome July 1995 p. 30-35,68,69
A quarter of the world's population lives in a country that I'm soon to visit but
know virtually nothing about. I'm off to China to skate the Great Wall, courtesy
of 'Twincam bearings' Tom Lai. I expected the Chinese to be a little more reserved,
but if you show them something out of the ordinary, like skates, they'll reveal plenty of
emotion.
15- Motion Sickness July 1996 p. 48-52
Always moving, always snacking and always closing in for the kill, sharklike speedster
Eddy Matzger resemble nature's most perfect predator in more ways than one. Some
reflections on the powers of perpetual motion.
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