LAKE PLACID, New York — Steven Holcomb, an Olympic gold medal winner and world champion bobsledder from Park City, was found dead in his room at the U.S. Olympic Training Center Saturday morning.
According to a press release from Team USA, Holcomb was found dead in his room in Lake Placid, New York, and at this time no further information regarding his death is available.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert posted a photo on Twitter, saying “Jeanette and I send our sincere condolences to his family and friends.”
Scott Blackmun, United States Olympic Committee CEO, said the Olympic family is devastated by Holcomb’s death.
“The entire Olympic family is shocked and saddened by the incredibly tragic loss today of Steven Holcomb,” Blackmun stated. “Steve was a tremendous athlete and even better person, and his perseverance and achievements were an inspiration to us all. Our thoughts and prayers are with Steve’s family and the entire bobsledding community.”
Holcomb competed for Team USA in three Olympic Winter Games, and he piloted the “Night Train” team of four in Vancouver in 2010 as they won Olympic gold. That win was the first gold for the U.S. in bobsledding since 1948. He won bronze medals in both the two and four-man bobsled events at Sochi in 2014.
“It would be easy to focus on the loss in terms of his Olympic medals and enormous athletic contributions to the organization, but USA Bobsled & Skeleton is a family and right now we are trying to come to grips with the loss of our teammate, our brother and our friend,” stated Darrin Steele, CEO of USA Bobsled & Skeleton.
Holcomb began competing in the U.S. in 1998 and won five world titles. He was also a six-time overall world cup champion and a 60-time world cup medalist, according to the press release.
He served as a member of the Utah Army National Guard from 1999-2006 and took part in the Army World Class Athlete Program.
