CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) 鈥� columnist was reporting from his first Winter Olympics when left her hospital bed after a crash and returned to compete days later at the 2006 Turin Games.
He is back in Italy two decades later at the and was there again to write about it when Vonn ended up back in the hospital following another crash. Even though .
The Post announced two days before the Olympics opened last week that it was eliminating its sports section while Svrluga said the newspaper originally planned to send 14 staff members to these Games.
With air tickets and accommodation already paid for, Svrluga is one of four of the paper鈥檚 journalists who decided to still come: He is in Cortina, Rick Maese is in Bormio, and and national staffer Robert Samuels are in Milan.
鈥淭hey can take away our section,鈥� Svrluga said, 鈥渂ut in a way, they can鈥檛 take away our spirit.鈥�
Of the four, Svrluga and Carpenter are being laid off. They came to their final assignment anyway.
鈥淚 wanted to be occupied,鈥� said Svrluga, who is at his 12th Games. 鈥淚 love covering the Olympics. 鈥� I had Lindsey injured in Sestriere and then had her gold (Vancouver, 2010) and I鈥檝e had every one of her Olympic races, whether they were successes or not. Same with (Mikaela) Shiffrin.鈥�
The first Olympics that Svrluga worked at was the 2004 Athens Summer Games and he was immediately struck by the way colleagues at the paper collaborated at such a big event.
鈥淚t felt like a team sport for us and that benefited the section and the paper,鈥� Svrluga said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to do here is remind people 鈥� readers and decision makers 鈥� that these are a lot of committed people who were doing things for the right reasons.”
Carpenter, the Post鈥檚 Olympics writer, is at his eighth Games. He’s been covering figure skating, speedskating and hockey.
鈥淭he Post sports department always had such a great connection with its readers. I felt I had to stay to tell the story of this Olympics for them,鈥� Carpenter said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what I鈥檇 want as a reader. If this is the end for Post sports, let鈥檚 give our most loyal readers our best.鈥�
Shiffrin trusted Svrluga with some personal news
Svrluga gave his readers 鈥� and the wider skiing community 鈥� reason for pause even before he got to Cortina.
, turned into much more than an Olympic preview story when they revealed to Svrluga why Eileen was absent at the start of this World Cup season: She had been diagnosed with cancer and faced six weeks of treatments.
鈥淭his was a very personal situation,鈥� Svrluga said. 鈥淚鈥檓 thankful for them that they trusted me with the information. It鈥檚 their story to tell.鈥�
Staff reductions are 鈥榯ragic for readers鈥�
Changes across the industry have resulted in fewer American reporters attending events like the Olympics.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 tragic for readers,鈥� Svrluga said, noting how the extra space in the reporters鈥� interview areas at the finish lines are 鈥済reat for logistics and sad for the business.鈥�
Some of the people who Svrluga has reported on at the Olympics have reached out to him after word spread about the cuts at the Post. It’s happened back in Washington, too, he said.
鈥淧eople who have won World Series, people who own teams. I鈥檝e been there 22 years, so you build relationships over time, even with people you battle with a little bit or you write something they don鈥檛 like. It鈥檚 still a human element to it,” Svrluga said. “So I鈥檝e heard from more people than I can count.鈥�
But, Svrluga added, 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to be the story. You want to cover the story.鈥�
The Post鈥檚 executive editor, Matt Murray, called the layoffs painful but necessary.
鈥淵ou could argue maybe we鈥檙e in this position because we didn鈥檛 adapt or see what is coming next,鈥� Svrluga said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 obvious people get their news in different ways now. I鈥檓 鈥榦ld school鈥� in one regard. 鈥� I hope that the people who are in their 20s and early 30s, like when I first went to the Olympics, are figuring out whatever鈥檚 next. I would love for it to include written storytelling, because that鈥檚 what I like to do.鈥�
A final story and 鈥榯he red wine will flow鈥�
Eliminating the Post sports section was a sharp blow since the department has hosted many well-known bylines through the years, including the likes of John Feinstein, Michael Wilbon, Shirley Povich, Sally Jenkins and Tony Kornheiser.
Svrluga鈥檚 final column from these Games will mark his final story for the Post. In the meantime, he鈥檚 going to try and enjoy the Olympics 鈥� and being in Italy 鈥� more than he usually does while on assignment.
鈥淭he red wine,鈥� he said, 鈥渨ill flow.鈥�
___
AP Olympics:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
