Olympic memories live on

One in a series of occasional articles about former prominent athletes from the area.

The blue-and-pink racing suit has long since vanished. And his two Olympic medals are stored away, one in a bank safe-deposit box and the other in his home.

Still, Eric Flaim can't escape recognition, even if now it comes from Vermonters not quite sure of who it is they have in their presence.

''People sometimes recognize the name," said Flaim, a four-time Olympian from Pembroke who now lives in Rutland, Vt., and works as a financial adviser. ''A lot of the time they look at me and I can tell they're thinking: 'Haven't I seen you before?' "

In 1988, Flaim's mug was everywhere after he emerged from the shadows of highly touted US skaters Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen to win a silver medal in the 1,500-meter event at the Calgary Olympic Games in Alberta, Canada. At the '94 Games in Lillehammer, Norway, Flaim made the unusual shift in speedskating from long track to short track and sealed his spot in Olympic Winter Games history when he anchored the 5,000-meter short track relay squad to another silver medal.

He remains the only skater in the world to climb atop an Olympic podium as both a short and long track skater. His resume includes being a member of the 1992 and '98 US Olympic teams. At the '98 Games in Nagano, Japan, Flaim was selected by his teammates to carry the US flag during the opening ceremonies.

''One thing Eric has always had is a big heart," former world-class speedskater Andy Gabel said of his one-time Olympic teammate. ''Carrying the flag in '98 was a well-deserved honor for Eric. He's someone you never wanted to count out."

Gabel, president of US Speedskating, an offshoot of the US Olympic Committee, said his favorite story about Flaim took place in Lake Placid, N.Y., the summer before the '98 Games. Flaim, at the time 10 years past his Olympic debut and forgotten by most in this young man's sport, was giving the Winter Games one last shot, according to Gabel.

When the trials began, ''he wasn't in the mix" to make the US team, said Gabel. ''I remember one day I was walking by this group of young skaters, and they asked me who I thought would make the team. I said I didn't know, but one thing I told them was that it would be a mistake to count Eric out. They all kind of laughed, thinking like he was some old man or something. Well, Eric ends up making the team, and one of those guys who was laughing came up to me and said I was right about Eric.

''I'm not sure if it's his Boston upbringing or what, but Eric Flaim always brought a bit of feistiness and determination to the ice. Maybe it's his hockey upbringing."

The son of Enrico and Donna Flaim grew up inside Pembroke's Hobomock Arena. A stick in his hands and a dream in his head, he was fixed to be like his hero, Bobby Orr, and one day soar after scoring a goal.

''I was supposed to be a hockey player," said Flaim, 37. ''When I was around 11 or 12 years old, I joined the Bay State Speed Skating Club in Waltham just to learn to skate faster. I was going to practices twice a week, and after two or three months I started competing and really enjoyed it."

Flaim said the decision to give up chasing a puck in favor of chasing a time clock came to him during a youth hockey game.

''I started thinking, 'Why am I sitting on the bench waiting for my next shift when I could be skating in a race?' And when a speedskating coach at Bay State approached my dad to tell him I had promise -- well, the decision was final," he said.

Flaim was 14 at the time. He soon moved to Germany, where for six months he trained with other world-class junior speedskaters. After coming home to Pembroke for a few months to catch up on his schooling at Silver Lake Regional High, Flaim headed to Wisconsin to train under the expert eye of US national coach Bob Fenn. Within a year, Flaim had captured the national 16-under title at 1,500 meters.

Six years later, with three fourth-place finishes and the American record time of 2:19.37 in the 1,500 meters that earned him silver, he was the surprise of Calgary and the darling of the South Shore. A hometown parade was held.

''I've got nothing but great memories of the Olympics, except maybe for the Albertville [France] Games in '92 when I came down with food poisoning and finished no better than sixth in the 1,500," said Flaim. He returned to the 2002 Winter Games as a speedskating analyst for NBC, and now feeds his competitive fire as a financial adviser for Citizens Investment Services.

''With the exception of my dad's death in 1995, my life has been a great ride," he said.

And Flaim's Olympic ride may not be quite over, with his wife, Marci, bidding to make the US team in the skeleton event (a head-first version of luge) for the 2006 Winter Games in Italy.

''The hope is, we're both in Turin a year from now for the Games, and I'm rooting her on," he said.

As for the last time he pulled on a pair of skates, it was in August for a special skating camp in Alaska.

''I don't think about skating on a daily basis," he said. ''You have to remember, I was in the sport from the time I was 11 until I was 30."

Now and then, though, he admitted, the urge to lace them up still hits him.

''If I'm at a speedskating race, I start reminiscing," said Flaim, his trademark boyish grin easily recognizable. ''There's nothing like that adrenaline rush I got when I raced."