With the four-man bobsled event still to look forward to this weekend, our military Olympians and those associated with, or former members of the Army World Class Athletic Program (WCAP) have performed well.
Yesterday, former U.S. Army WCAP bobsledder Steven Holcomb of Park City, Utah, USA-1 driver, along with brakeman Steve Langton of Melrose, Mass., captured the bronze medal in the two-man bobsled event.
U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program and USA-3 bobsled driver Nick Cunningham is first to congratulate USA-1 brakeman Steven Langton, who teamed with former Army program driver Steven Holcomb to win the Olympic bronze medal in two-man bobsleigh at Sochi, Feb. 17, 2014
Alexander Zubkov of Russia won the gold medal and Beat Hefti of Switzerland took the silver.
It was Team USA’s first medal in the event since Stan Benham and Pat Martin won silver in Oslo in 1952.
USA-2 came in 12th and U.S. Army WCAP Sgt. Nick Cunningham and Sgt. Dallas Robinson drove USA-3 to 13th place.
The U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program duo of Sgt. Nick Cunningham, right, and Sgt. Dallas Robinson push USA-3 to a third-heat run of 56.98 seconds in the Olympic two-man bobsled event at Sanki Sliding Centre in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 17, 2014. After three of four heats, the Army program soldiers have USA-3 in 13th place.
WCAP coaches were also doing a great job. Below, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Tuffield “Tuffy” Latour, the coach for the U.S. Army WCAP Team USA skeleton athletes, led Noelle Pikus-Pace, right, to an Olympic silver medal and Katie Uehlander to a fourth-place finish in women’s skeleton events at Sochi, Feb. 14, 2014.
Finally (below), U.S. Army Sgt. William Tavares, left, the Team USA luge coach, provides last-minute instructions before handing the sled to U.S. Army Sgts. Preston Griffall, center, and Matt Mortensen, right, for their first heat of the Olympic luge doubles event at Sochi, Feb. 12, 2014.
Lead image: Former U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program bobsledder Steven Holcomb of Park City, Utah, and Steve Langton of Melrose, Mass., hoist the flowers and display their bronze medals during the Olympic two-man bobsled medal ceremony at Olympic Park in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 18, 2014.
All photos and captions: DOD
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.