Ex-college football star suffers Winter Olympics – Sports News
Winter Olympics star Charlie Volker has withdrawn from choice for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games after being compelled to retire medically.
Before discovering a place for himself within the Winter Olympics, which begins subsequent month amid some technical difficulties, Volker participated in school football, the place he performed working back for Princeton. He declared for the 2019 NFL Draft and acquired a mini-camp invite to the NFL, however the occasion was canceled resulting from COVID.
As a consequence, he gave up on the NFL and pledged himself to bobsled. Volker competed within the four-person bobsled occasion on the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing for Team USA and likewise made the U.S. World Cup crew, securing bronze in Winterberg, Germany.
Volker hoped to make the Team USA roster for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy. However, much less than two weeks earlier than USA Bobsled and Skeleton makes its remaining roster determination, Volker revealed he has been struggling to get better from a concussion he suffered earlier this season.
The difficulty has compelled his medical retirement. Volker took to social media to jot down: “After sustaining a concussion earlier this season, struggling through the recovery process, and receiving further evaluation from our sports med team, I will officially be medically retiring from bobsled at this time.
“I keep trying to remind myself that everything happens for a reason, but it’s going to hurt to not be out there with the guys.”
Concussions are usually not unusual in sliding sports activities, the place athletes attain speeds exceeding 80 mph. For bobsledders, the trip down the icy mountainside chute is rarely clean, and crashes might be very jarring, whereas athletes corresponding to Volker usually get shaken fairly a bit during these runs that are likely to final for about a minute.
Volker entered the yr as a high contender for a place on the Winter Olympics crew, particularly after setting a crew report within the push championships in September. However, he had not competed in a World Cup race this season.
USA Bobsled and Skeleton CEO Aron McGuire launched a assertion paying tribute to Vollker, which learn: “Charlie is an exceptional bobsled athlete with outstanding character and professionalism. Decisions like this are never easy, especially at this level, and I commend him for prioritizing his health and well-being. We’re grateful for the medical professionals supporting his recovery.
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“He will certainly be missed for the remainder of the season, and we remain confident in the strength, depth, and resilience of our men’s bobsled program.”
At the 2022 Beijing Games, Volker was paired with Hunter Church, who has since additionally retired. Church drove to a Tenth-place end in two-man and a Twenty seventh-place displaying in four-man at these Games.
The Winter Olympics start in Milano Cortina on Feb. 6.
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