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Nagano proved too much
Stojko admitted yesterday that he went through about a week-long funk and only recently has he started to feel normal again.
"It was a nightmare I went through," said Stojko, who skated to a silver medal in Nagano in spite of a severe groin injury. "Everything kind of (came) crashing down."
Stojko, who turns 26 tomorrow, said the downtime after returning home resulted in the crash. For days, he basically kept to himself.
"I didn't talk to anybody for a while," he said. "I just needed to think."
Stojko described the post-Olympic experience as a roller-coaster ride.
EXHAUSTED
"Time to time, I'd be quite exhausted for no reason at all. Other times I'd be on a high, or sometimes on a roll."
Stojko said the "amazing" number of letters and notes of support from the Canadian public -- and from around the world -- helped him return to his former self.
He said the majority of well-wishers have been kids.
"They were sending mock gold medals, saying, 'This is what it's all about,' " he said, with some emotion.
"They said, 'You're our role model. You showed us what the Olympics is all about. It's not just about winning, it's striving for excellence and dealing with (everything).' "