Building Momentum
by Kevin Fritz
Seminole County native Josh Williamson and one of his U.S. bobsled teammates came thisclose to medaling at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in February in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
It was America’s highest finish in the sport since 2014, when the United States won a silver medal in Sochi, Russia.
In the men’s two-man competition, brakeman Josh and pilot Frank Del Duca posted a four-run time of 3:41.96, clocking the third-best run time in heat four and barely missing the podium by 2.26 seconds.
Josh last competed on the Olympic stage at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, China, as part of the men’s four-man bobsled competition.
“The Olympic experience is like no other,” says Josh, 29, who has lived in Lake Mary, Heathrow, and Oviedo. “And Cortina is one of the most beautiful stops on our tour.”
Following a three-month circuit in Europe, the 2026 U.S. bobsled team arrived in Italy a week before the opening ceremonies. Josh proudly marched in that spectacular event alongside Frank, who was chosen as the flag bearer for Team USA.
Setting the Pace
Because bobsledding (also known as bobsleighing) wasn’t scheduled until the second full week of the Olympics, Josh had the opportunity to watch the curling, luge, and women’s Alpine skiing competitions. The U.S. bobsled athletes also stayed busy with training runs to familiarize themselves with the course at the Cortina Sliding Centre, a new venue they hadn’t used before.
“The Sliding Centre set in the Dolomites [mountain range] is gorgeous,” says Josh. “It was an exciting time. Everyone was on fair footing.”
In the four-man bobsled competition – where Josh is a push athlete – his team placed 12th with a time of 3:40.06, concluding his second Olympics and setting the pace for the next four years.
“We have Olympic momentum now,” he says. “We are really taking off.”
Born in Sanford, Josh was a star lacrosse player at Seminole High School, earning a scholarship to play at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. But after Josh’s freshman year, injuries and thoughts about his future led him to reevaluate his path.
He transferred to Florida State University and began to follow weight lifters on Instagram. He soon discovered that two of them were bobsledders.
“They were in the sport because they were fast and strong, like linebackers,” says Josh. “That was me.”
Speed Racer
At age 20, Josh auditioned for Scouting Camp: The Next Olympic Hopeful, a reality television competition sponsored by Team USA to identify athletes with Olympic potential.
“I wasn’t sure if I should try, but my dad saw my vision,” recalls Josh, who won the TV competition. “My parents always encourage me. I might not be in this position without them. And I was born to do it. I was the right size, a sprinter, and a weight lifter. By the conclusion of the process, one coach said, ‘Bobsled was written on my forehead.’”
The results in Cortina have further motivated Josh, who is focused on bettering those outcomes when the Winter Olympic Games return in 2030, this time in the French Alps.
“I will be in France,” says Josh. “And my ultimate goal is Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2034, competing in our own country.”
To help his training become more regimented, Josh recently bought a house in Lake Placid, New York, with his wife of two years, Canadian bobsledder Kristen Bujnowski. A former Olympic host city in 1932 and 1980, Lake Placid is home to a prominent bobsled training center.
When his competing days are behind him, Josh hopes to become a bobsledding coach.
“I am one with the sport,” he says. “I love speed and strength. That is my passion, and I can lean into that to coach future athletes.”
Thrills and Chills at the Olympics
My wife Christi and I love the Olympics. When the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials came to Orlando in 2024, we became enamored with the idea of experiencing the Games in person.
That year, we made our dream come true, spending a week in Paris, France, at the Summer Games. We were hooked.
After much planning (and, as Floridians, buying and renting cold-weather gear) we set out in February on another Olympic journey: traveling to Italy for the 2026 Winter Games. The competitions were held mostly in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. We chose Cortina as our destination for two reasons: the opportunity to experience the Dolomites mountain range and the events the city was hosting – women’s Alpine skiing, luge, curling, skeleton, and bobsled.
We visited the brand-new Cortina Sliding Centre, which hosted luge and skeleton competitions and was conveniently located just outside our hotel. What a rush to be standing next to the ice track as the athletes flew by at upwards of 80 miles per hour! Most of the events were held at night, making the setting even more magical with its backdrop of sparkling lights and monuments of Cortina.
Christi and I already had an affinity for curling, but our love of the sport grew tenfold while we were there. At the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, we watched Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin become the first American team to win an Olympic mixed-doubles medal (silver) in curling. We also witnessed the medal ceremony following the matches. Seeing the United States flag being raised at the Olympics always gives me chills.
Our Alpine skiing tickets took us high into the Tofana di Mezzo mountain in the Dolomites to the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, which included traveling by bus and gondola. On our first day there, we saw Team USA’s Paula Moltzan and Jacqueline Wiles being awarded the bronze medal in the women’s team combined event. We also met Paula’s dad in town later that day, and his smile couldn’t have been any wider.
The town of Cortina is captivating, with its Alpine architecture and cobblestone roads set against a breathtaking view of the Dolomites. We were welcomed with open arms by shopkeepers, hoteliers, locals, and fellow Olympic enthusiasts, making us feel like part of an extended family. Already on our travel itinerary: visiting the French Alps to watch the Winter Olympic Games in 2030.
- Kevin Fritz