Perimeter Profile: Nippy (Edward) Feldhake III

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Nippy Feldhake (right) with his nephew Justin (left) in London Olympic Village

Nippy’s Olympic experiences are as expansive as the geography of the games he’s attended – He’s in London now, working on his 12th Olympic Games, which open on Friday.

Over the years Nippy has helped build Olympic Villages in Atlanta, Georgia and Park City, Utah. In 1996 he was one of the construction managers of the Olympic Village on the campus of Georgia Tech. He lived in Atlanta for nine months and had a budget of $1 million to build the Olympic Village in only two months.

His first games were in the summer of 1984. His family members saw the race where Zola Bud from South Africa and Mary Decker from the USA bumped on the track. In 1988 he saw Greg Louganis hit his head on the diving board.

In 1992, he was on the American Samoa Cycling Team and attended the Summer Games in Barcelona but did not get to compete “due to the demise of the Soviet Union.”

Nippy’s twice carried the torch – once on a bicycle in 1996 and once running through Tucson in 2002.

In London he will be working in the Olympic Village handing out Olympic uniforms for the Australian team. He’s working with his nephew – wow, what an uncle! He’ll stay on to work in the Power-lifting venue during the Paralympic Games.

Nippy has a passion for sports and the heart for helping people. Nippy’s volunteered in almost every capacity at El Tour and then rides. He’s built bridges when water in the Sabino Creek crossing was waist-high. Often he’ll help at the start and then serve as a domestique for another cyclist riding a shorter event – just to help that person finish with a faster time. The last few years he’s been working with El Grupo teenage riders.

Nippy and his nephew have launched their Facebook page – Nippy & Justin Take London so you can follow the behind-the-scenes- adventures of a super nice fellow with exceptional experiences.