An interview with Team Member Will Person - One of the only African American Bobsled Team Members in History.
ETV: When are the trials?
WP: the Olympic trials will be contested in October of 2005. They will be contested at Lake Placid Olympic Park. We will have to finish in the top two. After the trials we will begin racing on the World Cup tour. The top 20 teams will go on to the Olympic Games.
ETV: Where are the Winter Olympics?
WP: The Olympics will be contested at Torino Italy.
ETV: Who will you competing against?
WP: We will be competing against the top 20 ranked teams in the world.
ETV: Who are your teammates?
WP: My driver’s name is Stephan Bosch. He began his career with Germany. While competing for Germany he won the European Cup 25 times, finished in the top 3 in World Cup races, and has been a World Champion 4 times.
Our next race will be this month Jan 21st-29th. We are racing in the last Americas Cup of the season. We have to complete these races to be eligible for the Olympic Games.
ETV: What are your goals?
WP: Our goal is to qualify for the Olympic Games and bring home a gold medal for the USA. One other important goal I have is to expose all communities to the sport of bobsledding. I am one of the only African Americans involved in the sport. I am working on holding an essay program for youth in the City of Saint Louis. The winners will be invited to one European World Cup race.
Every since I was a little child I wanted to compete in the World Championship and Olympic Games. They are actually the same race with one exception. The Olympics has an opening ceremony. I have competed in America’s Cup, World Cup, National Championship, Olympic Trials and World Championships. I am so close to completing all of my sports goals. I have been blessed not many people can say that.
ETV: How did I become a bobsled Athlete?
WP: The truth is I was tricked in to becoming a bobsledder. A Canadian athlete originally contacted me while I was training at Arizona State University. We had a nice laugh about it, but I told him I was not interested. I was competing as a long jumper and I had just finished working as a stuntman in the Movie Jerry Maguire. I was informed there would be a few more movie roles for me, but I was concerned about not spending enough time with my daughters. They were so young, therefore I had to decline.
Five years later I was contacted by Stan Harbock of the Alpine Bobsled Club. He asked me to come and try out for a bobsled team. I was originally against getting in a bobsled. He told me that NBC would be there to film the tryout. I told him I would come out and be supportive.
There were about 20 athletes at the try out. We were all sitting around nervous and waiting. No one knew what to expect. The NBC camera crew showed up and behind them was a guy pushing a treadmill. Each athlete was put through a treadmill work out. We all took turns watching each athlete get tested. When I finished my turn the bobsled driver walked over to me and asked if he could talk to me. The NBC cameras were still rolling. The driver asked me if he offered me $50,000 to race with his team, would I be interested.
In the back of my mind I wanted to say yes. But I gave him the educated answer. I told him I would have to check around and see if that was a fair amount.
Two days later I took my first ride in a bobsled. I raced in my first international race four days later. That week I also found out that the original driver did not have sufficient sponsors to pay for anything. The sled we were racing in was the slowest on the mountain. Most sleds were aero dynamic but not this one. It was shaped like an old AMC Pacer. Although when I did realized he did not have funding I was already hooked. So, I guess I have him to thank for exposing me to the sport of Bobsledding.
ETV: What kind of training is involved?
WP: Training to be a bobsledder is physically demanding. You have to train as a sprinter and weight lifter. It takes a lot of strength and speed to accelerate a five hundred pound bobsled.
Our season officially starts in September and ends in February. There are usually seven World Cup races followed by the World Championships or Olympic games.
ETV: Has the US team ever won the Olympic Bobsled event?
WP: In February of 2002, Todd Hays and Brian Shimer ended nearly a half-century of Olympic frustration for the U.S. men's bobsled team, driving to the silver and bronze medals in the four-man race. This ended a 46 year dry spell for the US team. Our job is to keep that momentum going.
ETV: Is there really a Jamaican bobsled team?
WP: Yes there is, and their training was financed by a beer company and a "secret admirer." At Lillehammer, the Jamaicans finished 14th, their best finish and ahead of both sleds from the United States.
For More information on Will and the Bobsled team visit:
