LAKE PLACID, New York — This village is immersed in Olympic glory.
Sculptor Rob Eccleston, seen here in his studio in Loveland, Colorado, making half-scale models for what will ultimately be 20 full-sized bronze statues of the men’s hockey team that won the gold at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. The goal is for the $5 million project to be completed by 2030, the 50th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice.
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The Lake Placid Olympic Museum in upstate New York documents the winter Olympics held in the area in 1932 and 1980. Eric Heiden, right, of Madison, won five gold medals at the 1980 games. His sister, Beth Heiden, won the bronze medal in the 3,000 meter race and has her skates displayed in the museum.
Artifacts from the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Winter Olympics are one of the many highlights of the Lake Placid Olympic Museum. The U.S. men’s hockey team, which included Mark Johnson and Bob Suter of Madison, beat the Russians in the semi-finals and two days later won the gold with a win over Finland.
Lights in the shape of Olympic rings hang above a scoreboard at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York, that shows the final score of the hockey game between Team USA and the Russians in the semi-finals of the 1980 Winter Olympics.
This 12-inch-high model represents what the full-scale bronze sculpture of the 1980 men’s Olympic hockey team will look like. Sculptor Rob Eccleston, a former Lake Placid, New York, resident, is creating the sculpture in his studio in Loveland, Colorado, and hopes to have it done by 2030.
Rob Eccleston has been commissioned to create bronze sculptures throughout the country. He is now focused in his studio in Loveland, Colorado, on making a sculpture commemorating the U.S. men’s hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
What is now the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York, has undergone major renovations since the U.S. men’s hockey team won gold in the building in 1980. The work has included new seats, video boards and a new cooling system.
The outdoor speed skating track where Eric Heiden won five gold medals is seen from a balcony of the Olympic Center, home to three ice arenas and a museum. A bronze sculpture of the 20 members of the 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team would be installed below the balcony while a statue of Heiden is planned for an elevated garden across the street overlooking the oval.
