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Chris Schenkel didn't get a medal in Nagano, but he set an Olympic record nonetheless.
For the 10th time in the history of the Olympiad, fans were greeted with Schenkel's smooth voice as he provided the stories behind the stories of the competitors themselves.
This time, the legendary ABC network broadcaster and resident of Tippecanoe Lake was working for another network - the giant cable network, TNT.
The 74-year-old Schenkel, who parted ways with ABC last year after a 34-year career with the network, was hired by TNT to prepare "voice overs" for nearly 70 video histories of this year's athletes.
Schenkel did his preparation and work in Atlanta during a series of trips in December and January.
As a result, fans watching daytime coverage of the Olympics have gotten a steady diet of background about the athletes from Schenkel.
Although he didn't travel to Nagano, the work was another broadcasting milestone in his career.
"This was my 10th - more than anybody," Schenkel said nonchalantly Friday during a phone interview from his home.
Prior to Nagano, Schenkel covered five Winter Olympics and four Summer Olympics - a level matched only by longtime ABC colleague Jim McKay.
On Thursday, TNT did a live interview from his home with broadcaster Jim Lampley, who focused on Schenkel's impressions of the current athletic field.
For even a savvy broadcast veteran, the idea of a live interview via satellite from his home with somebody on the other side of the globe was a bit astounding.
"It's fascinating," Schenkel said.
Schenkel said he didn't miss attending the games in Nagano because of a disabling respiratory problem, which he said slows him down.
Schenkel's association with the Olympics began in 1960 with the first Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley, Calif. Those games included just 15 hours of coverage.
He went on to anchor three Olympics. And when he wasn't in the anchor booth, he provided commentary for ski jumps, figure skating and gymnastics competitions.
Among the memorable events he covered were gold medal performances by Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill, and Nadia Comaneci's first ever perfect score in gymnastics, part of her seven gold medals in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
The most memorable Olympics came in 1972 because of both the historic violence and the great athletic accomplishments. The best organized Olympics, he said, were in Los Angeles in 1984.
The one athlete who impressed Schenkel this year was Austrian Hermann Maier, who won two gold medals but gained more notoriety for a sensational spill during a downhill event in which he landed hard on his shoulder.
Despite smacking the ground and tearing through two fences, Maier walked away with little more than a few bruises.
"He has to be the toughest I've seen in a long time. I just wish we could get him as the fullback for the New York football Giants. He looked like one. God, he must be tough," Schenkel said.
Like many sports fans, Schenkel's attention was diverted away from the Olympics after the death of Hall of Fame baseball broadcaster Harry Caray earlier this week.
While Schenkel and Caray possess two of the most recognizable voices in sports, their careers crossed paths only once. That was in a Chicago airport in the early 1990s, he said.
He said Caray joked about the New York Giants.
"We had enough time where we could visit for about 10 minutes," he said. "He was just a charming, charming dude.
"He was one of a kind and had a style of his own - and it fit in Chicago," he said.
"He was very, very special. A nice guy."
