LAKE PLACID, NY (January 10, 2024)- The hardworking and talented youth athletes who will be representing USA Bobsled/Skeleton (USABS) and Team USA continue their preparations for the fourth Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG). The Games are being hosted in the province of Gangwon in the Republic of Korea. While this is the location of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, this will be the first Youth Winter Olympic Games to be held in Asia.

To be eligible for the YOG, these athletes had to compete in the YOG Qualifying Series. This event was comprised of 12 separate races spanning over four different tracks on three different continents.

In total, six youth athletes have been selected to represent the Stars & Stripes: Noah and Baden Park for Boy’s Skeleton, Biancha Emery for Girl’s Skeleton, Liam McKenna and John Jansing for Boy’s Bobsled and Emily Bradley for Girl’s Bobsled.

Noah and Baden Park are identical twins who are in their sixth sliding season. The duo are 17 years old and Salt Lake City, UT natives. Most recently, the two competed in the North American Cup (NAC) races in Park City, with both impressively sliding into top 10 finishes on separate days in this non-youth competition.

Biancha Emery is 16. Originally from Bend, OR, she is entering into her second season as a skeleton athlete.

Liam McKenna is 14, making him one of the youngest male participants to compete in bobsledding in the YOG. He has been involved with the sport for six years. His hometown is Lunenburg, MA.

John Lansing finished 3rd overall in the YOG Qualifying Series. He is 15 years old and hails from Lake Placid, NY, the home base of USABS.

Emily Bradley is a 16-year-old from Sacramento, California who started bobsledding in March 2021. She is following in her dad, Mike’s footsteps, who raced on the NAC circuit as a pilot in 2008-2009. Bradley impressively finished 2rd overall in the YOG Qualifying Series.

The glue holding this youth team together has been Bryan Berghorn. In addition to having a leading role on USABS’ youth team. Berghorn also is jointly employed by the the Olympic Regional Development Authority for New York State (ORDA).

“I am extremely excited to head back to Korea to put an exclamation point on what has been an incredible two years with what is now our Youth Olympic Team. Over the last twelve qualifying races we have shown that our young athletes are some of the best drivers amongst the youth athletes from around the world which is in no small part due to Park City's and Lake Placid's tracks getting behind the development of these athletes along with the unwavering support of their family and friends. We have been twice around the world on 4 tracks on 3 different continents bringing home hardware consistently including 2nd overall on the women's bobsled side with Emily Bradley and 3rd overall in men's bobsled with John Lansing. It has been an honor to have been able to coach these young athletes from taking their first runs to having the opportunity to walk into the stadium behind the American flag with them and I look forward to see what we're able to do at the Winter Youth Olympics, Gangwon 2024!” shared Berghorn.

The USA Bobsled/Skeleton youth team will begin their Olympic training on January 16, 2024 and will have their official races on January 22nd (Women’s Skeleton and Monobob) and January 23rd (Men’s Skeleton and Monobob).

###

About USA Bobsled/Skeleton

USA Bobsled/Skeleton is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton racing in the United States. Based in Lake Placid, NY, USA Bobsled/Skeleton oversees the development and training of American athletes at all levels of competition.

TEAM USA PREPARES FOR SLIDING AT THE YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES

Loading...