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Steve Holcomb's shadow looms large over USA bobsled heading into Pyeongchang Olympics

(Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Steven Holcomb poses for a portrait during the Team USA Media Summit at the Canyons Grand Summit Hotel Monday September 30, 2013.


Park City • When he takes control of his sled, Justin Olsen will have Steve Holcomb with him. The American bobsled driver will have the late Holcomb’s initials on his race suit. And he will have all the knowledge Holcomb imparted.

“I don’t know my sport without Steve,” Olsen said.

Borne out of relentless competitive drive and heavyhearted necessity, the U.S. bobsledders are pressing on, racing toward February and the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, without their leader and gold-medal winning driver. But as they simultaneously mourn the death of Holcomb, and attempt to replace his world-class skills on the ice, the Park City native still will have a major impact on their success.

Holcomb and Olsen spent time together in Korea, getting to know the Olympic track there. Before Holcomb’s death, Olsen told his teammate he one day would make a great coach. He knew the sport and, because he was a man of few words, he knew how to succinctly get across his point.

Many of Holcomb’s teammates came to Utah for a memorial service after he was found dead — a fatal mixture of alcohol and sleeping pills in his blood — inside his room at the Olympic training facility in Lake Placid, N.Y., in May. This, however, will be their first time competing here without Holcomb.

“There’s a void that will probably never be filled,” driver Nick Cunningham said.

But Holcomb’s teammates say they can best honor his life by pressing on — and by winning races. Even as he dealt with the grief of losing his friend and teammate, American bobsledder Steve Langton never skipped a workout.

“I’ll always remember Steve, and I’ll be thinking of Steve throughout the entire season,” Langton said. “He would want us to be going out there trying to win every single race because that’s what he lived his life doing.”

The U.S. won three medals in a World Cup event in Lake Placid last week. Cunningham and Ryan Bailey won silver in two-man bobsled, with Codie Bascue and Carlo Valdez winning bronze. Elana Meyers Taylor and Lauren Gibbs won silver in the women’s bobsled.

“Every time Steve would step on the ice, he was a medal contender,” Cunningham said before the start of the season. “He was a threat anytime he was near a bobsled track. … To honor that legacy, we need to go and be that threat.”

Holcomb led the U.S. to an Olympic gold medal in 2010 and two bronze medals in 2014. The chance to reunite with Holcomb for one last medal push was what brought Langton out of retirement earlier this year. Now the veteran push athlete is looking to a relative newcomer.

“Steve Holcomb will never be replaced,” Langton said. “There is only one Steve Holcomb. That being said, I think the next guy coming up is Justin Olsen.”

(Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Bobsled athlete Justin Olsen speaks during the Team USA Media Summit at the Grand Summit Hotel in Canyons Village Tuesday, September 26, 2017.

Olsen has been a world-class push athlete who won gold on Holcomb’s four-man team in Vancouver in 2010, but he still is finding his way as a driver. But Evan Weinstock, one of the men in Olsen’s sled, believes he can lead them to the podium in Korea.

“Our expectations are to win a gold medal,” Weinstock said. “That’s the only way they’ll feel accomplished this season.”

The U.S. is confident in its ability to start races well. The question will be how they handle things after that, when Holcomb would have been in control of the ropes. The driver will be especially important in Pyeongchang, where the track is considered to be very technical, with challenging turns from the second curve through the finish.

“Right now, we have one of the best teams we’ve ever had in terms of brakemen,” Cunningham said. “… I think we should be good to go and be in medal contention to start the race.”

After that, when Holcomb would have been in charge, it will be up to a new class of drivers to step up and take his place.

“It’s going to be very strange for bobsled fans, for the team, for our coaches, for our staff,” Olsen said. “USA Bobsled was Steve Holcomb. It was. His story was phenomenal.”

BOBSLED AND SKELETON WORLD CUP <br>Where • Utah Olympic Park, Park City <br>Schedule <br>Friday <br>Noon • Women’s skeleton <br>3 p.m. • Four-man bobsled race 1 <br>6 p.m. • Women’s bobsled <br>Saturday <br>Noon • Men’s skeleton <br>4 p.m. • Four-man bobsled race 2