Team Zozzy - Cool Runnings 2.0 - Team USA Bobsled

 

For many people, the dream of going to the Olympics is just that; a dream. For me, it’s been something that I’ve been working towards for as long as I can remember. To this day, one of my greatest motivations is to make sure that I am and will continue to be, faster than my older brother. As a child, I didn’t necessarily think that a healthy sibling rivalry would one day put me within arms reach of competing in the Olympics; but here we are.

 

Like so many things in life, becoming a professional athlete kind of just happened. The previously mentioned rivalry motivated me to train and compete in track as a High School athlete, which went incredibly well and positioned me to pursue a successful career in D1 Track at Elon University with a full athletic scholarship; which was a dream all of its own. Following my performance at Elon, I was awarded the largest international athlete scholarship Loughborough University offers to represent the school nationally as a member of the First Team, which, again, a huge honor considering the school is one of three International Olympic Hubs and the top-rated track program in the United Kingdom.

 

 

I’d love to say that this was all planned, but as any runner will tell you, momentum played a huge factor in this journey. My time spent training and competing occupied a lot of my mind throughout the process, so my sights were always set on the next race, and not necessarily the next step in my career. I kept competing and was fortunate enough to keep winning, and then Covid came along.

 

The world, as we all know, came to a standstill and the borders were rapidly closing and I was faced with the most difficult decision of my life - risk my career or risk being cut off from my family during a time of great uncertainty. I made the tough decision and found myself on the last flight to JFK to bunker down with my family while looking for any possible avenue to continue progressing towards the Tokyo Olympic Trials.

 

 

I continued training, as track meets after a track meet got canceled, and the prospect of the Olympics slowly seemed to slip away from my grasp when a new opportunity presented itself in the form of a Bobsled. After receiving an invitation to join Team USA as a development bobsled pilot, I graciously traded my track spikes for ice spikes and once again packaged my life into a bag and headed to Lake Placid to learn an entirely new sport, in an entirely new place, during a period that was entirely shrouded in uncertainty.

 

Since making this decision, I have established myself as one of the fastest things on ice, and have warmly been dubbed “Cool Runnings 2.0” by my newly minted family on TikTok who have been following along in my journey and providing ample encouragement as I have navigated this chapter of my life.

 

 

In the past year, while learning so much about myself, I’ve also been learning a great deal about Bobsledding and the costs associated with the sport; which I was surprised to learn is one of the most expensive sports in the world. While the national association does provide the team with an incredible new facility for us to train, the associated costs are largely our responsibility as it is very little in the way of national funding for equipment. This means that our sleds, helmets, runners, gloves, spikes, and all other forms of equipment must be self-funded for which will cost most athletes, tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase; which is why I’m reaching out to you all for help.

 

I’ve crunched the numbers, and done the math, and double-checked, and found that at a modest estimate, I will need to raise $50k to survive 2022. I’ve broken down those costs to share with you all so you know exactly where each dollar is going, and what your contributions will be going towards, just so that there’s complete transparency with what my funding needs are for.

 

 

And while I am infinitely grateful for any contributions, I do realize that not everyone is in a position to contribute and I don’t want anyone to feel bad for that, but if you do want to help in some way, following me and engaging with my social media is the second-best way that you can contribute so I can further share my story with others and help build momentum.

 

For those who would like to show continued support, I do have a Patreon which you can contribute a small amount to each month (roughly $1-$5) which is also greatly appreciated; think of it as a subscription to my Olympic Journey where I’ll be sharing exclusive content and personal messages and live Q+As.

 

Above all. Thank you all so much for everything you’ve done for me, no matter how small. Every message I get, every time someone shares a video of mine, every like, and every comment means the world to me and is what keeps me going; knowing that you’re all there with me whether in the gym or on the track.