Holcomb recalled as great teammate
Pilot was U.S. bobsled pioneer, champion
Pulmonary congestion is a possible cause of death of Olympic champion bobsledder Steven Holcomb, USA Bobsled & Skeleton announced Sunday.
He was found dead in his room Saturday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. He was 37.
The results of a preliminary report by the Adirondack Medical Center revealed the potential cause, pending toxicology performed by an independent lab, USA Bobsled said. The report was negative for drugs, and USA Bobsled said there was no suspicion of foul play.
Holcomb won an Olympic gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Games, piloting the “Night Train” to victory in the four-man bobsled competition. It was the USA’s first gold medal in the event since 1948. Four years later in Sochi, Holcomb won bronze medals in the two-man and four-man bobsled.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to the family, friends and teammates of our dear friend Steven Holcomb,” USA Bobsled board chairman Pete Piechoski said. “Steve was a wonderful man and a great friend. He was a fearless competitor whose light shone bright and guided us all. You will be sorely missed, Steve. God’s peace to you on your next journey.”
A native of Park City, Utah, who joined the World Cup circuit as a brakeman in 1998, Holcomb became one of the most decorated bobsled pilots in the world. He won 60 World Cup medals and 10 medals in the world championships in addition to his three Olympic medals. He was a five-time world champion.
Holcomb finished this season ranked No. 2 in two-man on the World Cup circuit and third in fourman. In March, he competed on the track that will host next year’s Olympics, posting photos on social media from Pyeongchang, South Korea.
“My heart is broken and I’m still in shock,” U.S. Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor told USA TODAY Sports. “We not only lost a great bobsledder today, we lost a great teammate and an even better friend. He was USA bobsled and will forever be. I will miss him deeply.”
USA Bobsled CEO Darrin Steele remembered Holcomb’s perseverance in the sport.
After failing to make the Olympic team as a brakeman in 2002, Holcomb not only came back but also sought to become a pilot. He made the Olympic team four years later.
“I don’t want people to be too grounded and too realistic. I want them to be dreamers that look into the clouds and aren’t afraid to go for things. That’s what he brought,” he said.
In 2008, Holcomb had experimental eye surgery to correct a disorder called keratoconus, which distorts vision and often leads to blindness. Before the corrective surgery, Holcomb battled depression, and in his 2012 book, But Now I See: My Journey From Blindness
to Olympic Gold, he revealed that he attempted suicide in 2007.
“Depression isn’t something you catch in the wind one day and get sick the next,” Holcomb wrote. “It is a gradual, degenerative process, much like my keratoconus. And just like my blindness, I chose to battle the demon on my own, without telling anyone or seeking help from others.”
Brant Feldman, Holcomb’s agent since 2009, remembered Holcomb as the consummate teammate. In 2014, Holcomb asked his helmet sponsor to provide gear for some female bobsledders, Feldman said.
“For the people that really got to know him, they really loved this guy. He was quiet and he was reserved and quiet by nature, but his word was his bond,” he said. “If you were on Steven’s team, you were on his team. He was the type of guy that was extremely loyal to those around him that were his friends.
“The really close friends he had are devastated right now. I’m getting messages from all over the place, and everyone is surprised. Steve was truly loved by a lot of people.”