Princeton University Grad Is Headed To The Winter Olympics

PRINCETON, NJ — Here's another reason for you to tune into the Beijing Winter Olympics. Princeton University graduate Charlie Volker, will be representing Team USA in bobsled.

He's the second person with a Princeton connection to make it to the team. Princeton native Kelly Curtis is all set to represent Team USA in skeleton. Read More Here: Princeton Native Kelly Curtis To Compete In Winter Olympics

While at Princeton, Volker was ranked No. 7 of all-time rushing yards. After graduating in 2019, he planned to try out for the NFL. He was training at a football camp in North Jersey when COVID abruptly shut down all training camps in the spring of 2020.

Volker's NFL dreams were derailed.

But one of Volker's training coaches, a former bobsledder, suggested he might want to try bobsledding because Volker had the pushing strength and speed needed for the sport.

Volker's online stats in the 40-yard dash and broad jump helped him qualify for the USA Bobsled/Skeleton Team. From there, he was invited to the Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York to try out at team trials.

In December 2020, he successfully earned a spot on the U.S. National Team — less than 18 months after he picked up the sport.

Volker has been training in Lake Placid ever since. This will be his very first Olympics. He's a resident of Fair Haven.

Look for Volker in both the two-man and the four-man bobsled races. He has the position of "brakeman," meaning you will find him at the very back of the sleds; he is responsible for the all-important job of pulling the brakes at the end of the race to stop the sled.

The 2022 Winter Olympics begin Feb. 4 and they will last through Feb. 20.

See more Winter Olympics coverage on Patch

(With reporting from Carly Baldwin, Patch Staff)

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