Medalist Q&A: Steve Mesler

Not ready to give up competition and athletics after college, Steve Mesler emailed the USOC about what he has to offer athletically and thus began his bobsledding career. Originally with driver Todd Hayes, Mesler joined Steve Holcomb's 4-man team after the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Since then, he has been successful sliding with Holcomb as USA 1, and the 4-man bobsled team won the gold medal in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Teamusa.org recently had the chance to ask him a few questions about his Olympic experience and plans for the future. Here's what he had to say.

1. What was it like holding that gold medal when your team finally won?
   It's still setting in. At this point we haven't had any time to really settle down yet. I'll look at pictures, and it still doesn't look quite real. It hasn't really settled in. The best feeling that I've gotten from it is being able to come back to the States and actually share it. That's when it really starts to hit home.


2. How has your life changed since you won?
   It's a lot busier. I've been making sure that I enjoy every minute of it. I mean I'll have the gold medal forever, but these experiences will not last forever. So I'm trying to step back as often as I can and enjoy it.


3. What are your goals in life now and have they changed since winning gold?
   No, my goals in life haven't changed. This was a huge deal, but it doesn't define me. I still want to enjoy what I do whether I keep bobsledding or find something else. I still want to inspire people, so that's what I'm really looking forward to.


4. What would you say has changed to make USA Bobsled into a real world contender?
   The Bo-Dyn Project is the biggest effort that we've taken and the funding Geoff put toward the program in the beginning and getting bobsled to this new status. Without these guys we would've been at the Olympics, but we wouldn't have won. Also, the help that the USOC has put into the Bo-Dyn Project; the USOC gave them everything they needed when they came and asked for funding a few years ago. The commitment level between the Bo-Dyn Project, the [USA Bobsled & Skeleton] Federation, and the U.S. Olympic Committee has really grown since they saw the potential, and it has really paid off for everybody.


5. How did you get into bobsledding? And what made you realize that bobsledding was your dream?
   I got into bobsledding when I just finished my track career at Florida, and it depended on the way I wanted to go. I was injured every year, but I didn't feel like I was done yet. I felt like I still had so much more to offer athletically and I didn't want to be out of the spotlight quite yet. So I had an old track coach, Jerry Clayton, who had an athlete on the '98 Olympic team and he always compared us. That thought was always in the back of my head. So I decided to email the U.S. Olympic Committee, and they forwarded my email to the Federation and started training from there.


6. How did the 4 of you meet and get together for a team?
   Well, we kind of get matched up with the coaching staff. Holcomb and I have been together for 4 years after the '06 Olympics, and Curt was with Holcomb for a while. Then we picked up Justin Olsen two seasons ago, and he was just a good fit. It all worked out really well.


7. Did the changes in the track from the opening day help or hurt your runs and why?
   I think the changes that they made helped everybody. It didn't hinder anybody when they made the changes to the track finally for 4-man. It was necessary because if they had left the track as it was before, you would have had half the field crashing. But Holcomb is a great driver and we were going to be fine regardless, so it didn't really affect us in any way. Holcomb is such a good driver that he can adapt really quickly.


8. How many runs does it take on any given track to get a good feel for how the team will do?
   Well, we did really well last year during the World Cup test event. We won the silver medal, and we were only 0.46 behind the gold medalist at the World Cup and 0.4 up on the next best sled. So we knew we were fast at that track already and that it would only be about the push and the drive.


9. Do you have any superstitions or pre-race rituals?
   If I do, I don't know them, and I just do them without even thinking about it. I do fidget with my helmet a lot, but I don't know if that's a pre-race ritual.


10. If you could do any other event at the Winter Games, what would it be?
    I would love to be able to do Downhill skiing. I'm not a very good skier, but I love skiing. I'm hoping to get back to Calgary next week and actually get to ski a little bit. We never really get to do it because we could end up hurting ourselves.

Tags: Medalist Q&A, Steve Mesler, USA Bobsled, Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games