Lori Lundin, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – You never know who’s serving up your lattes. It could just be an Olympic medal winner.
Such is the case of 24-year-old Jessica Lutz who just came back to her day job as a barista at the Coffee Bar in the U Street Corridor.
Lutz played for the Swiss women’s hockey team in Sochi in what felt like a whirlwind experience where she had little time to stop and think about being on the world stage.
“You find out the first week in January and three weeks later you’re on the plane going to Sochi. And it’s a bit of a risk, you invest a lot into something, you don’t know for sure you’re going to make it, you don’t know if you’re going to get injured, you don’t know what’s gong to happen,” says Lutz.
What did happen is a bronze medal, which many attribute to her go-ahead goal. Something she modestly disputes.
“Even the goal, I didn’t do on my own, it’s a team sport. Everybody has their roles, I don’t think I was any more instrumental than any of my other teammates.”
Proudly wearing her medal as she greets customers, Lutz says it really hasn’t all sunk in.
“Anticlimactic is the word I’ve been using. Because it is such an amazing experience, it’s really intense and you really don’t have time to process what’s happening. And it’s exhausting. And then, all of a sudden it’s over.”
The Rockville native who quietly came back to her job after spending three weeks in Sochi ultimately hopes to help other athletes when she goes back to school for physical therapy.
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