[
THE SCOOP] lifestyles Cool Runnings
Cornell lacrosse alum Chris Langton has shot at U.S. Olympic bobsled team
W
hen former Cornell midfielder Chris Langton tells someone new that he’s a bobsledder,
inevitably they will invoke the 1993 movie “Cool Runnings,” the sports comedy loosely based on the Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Olympics.Wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly what we did.
Why did you decide to bobsled? I vividly remember watching my older brother, Steve, at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He’s a two-time world champion in bobsled. I couldn’t go to the games because they were in February and our first day of lacrosse practice was Feb. 1. But I remember watching the opening ceremonies on TV with Rob Pannell and Mitch McMichael. I didn’t expect to see my brother, but there were a couple close-ups of him during the opening ceremony. I could see that overwhelming pride and excitement on his face. I knew then that it was something I wanted to try.
You trained with your brother during college, correct? I lived in Lake Placid, N.Y., the summer before my senior year and trained with him. In bobsledding, it’s an interesting dynamic. You train like a sprinter-weightlifter. Both speed and strength are important. I incorporated some lateral speed drills and endurance training. The training benefitted me on the lacrosse field right away.
Where do you live now? I’ve lived at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y., for the last year. Steve’s been here for six years now. It’s like a college dormitory, a big brick building. You have a roommate. There’s a weight room, gym and cafeteria. I live across the hall from Steve.
What was it like when you got to Placid? I got here, trained, did a combine, almost like an NFL combine, and did very well. I got myself on a sled last season and
20 LACROSSE MAGAZINE November 2013 >> A Publication of US Lacrosse
competed in the World Cup for a few races. I’d always come into the fall for lacrosse at 210 pounds, and by the end of the spring I’d be down to 195. When I got to Placid, I had to put on about 25 pounds in a couple months.
What do most people not know about bobsled? Every year there’s a bobsled season. A lot of people see it in the Olympics every four years and think that’s the only time guys compete, but there’s different levels of competition. World Cup is the highest level besides the Olympics. I made what they call the America’s Cup, and that’s a step below the World Cup. I did that for the first half of the season, and had some success. Then there was an injury, which is really the only way for spots to open up. I got a call from our head coach, Brian Shimer, when I was in Park City, Utah, to tell me that a spot opened and I was coming up to the World Cup tour. The second half is in Europe. I went with the team in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France and Russia. I was an alternate for quite some time, but then I was able to compete in France on USA- 3, and then on the Olympic track in Sochi, Russia. That was the last race of the season.
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