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Steve Holcomb was found dead in his bed at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York on May 6, 2017. The former bobsled driver was just 37 years old. According to NBC Sports, a toxicology report revealed Holcomb had a significant amount of alcohol and sleeping aids in his system.
Holcomb’s blood-alcohol level was found to be 0.188, well above the threshold for intoxication. He also had more than the typical dosage of the sleeping aid Lunesta in his system, and the report indicated that combination was fatal for the bobsledder who was found in his bed at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y., on May 6. An initial autopsy last month showed that fluid in Holcomb’s lungs was a significant factor in his death, but no precise cause of death was revealed pending the toxicology report.
“We’re still in shock and struggling to come to terms with our loss,” Darrin Steele, USA Bobsled & Skeleton CEO, said in a statement. “The sliding community is a tight-knit family, and we lost one of our brothers. The outpouring of support from around the world has helped us begin the process of healing, but his absence will be felt for years to come.”
The Holcomb family noted in the same press release that they had preferred to keep the toxicology reports private.
Steven’s passing is a tragedy and we are devastated to lose him. Steven was an amazing son and brother who was loved and cherished by his family, his friends, the bobsled community and all the communities he touched around the world. We hold our memories of him close and are so proud of him, not only as an athlete but also as a person. He endeavored to be a role model to others, and to be a kind, considerate and loving man who will be dearly missed in this world. Anyone who knew Steven knew what a private person he was despite being a public figure. Our intentions were to continue to respect his privacy, even in death. We appreciate the outpouring of love and support from around the world.
Holcomb’s memory is still present at the 2018 Winter Olympics despite his passing.
Steve Holcomb’s Teammates Honor Bobsled Driver at 2018 Winter Olympics
Holcomb may not be physically present at the 2018 Winter Olympics, but his presence is felt by his former teammates as they remember his legacy while competing. Holcomb won three Olympic medals, and the U.S. bobsled team is looking to honor their former teammate by performing well in PyeongChang.
“We’re all suffering together,” Nick Cunningham, Holcomb’s former teammate, told Time. “And the best way to honor that legacy is to carry it on, to always be that threat on the hill, always put in that work and honor him by what we’re doing behind the scenes.”
U.S. coach Brian Shimer explained to Time that it has been a difficult time for the whole team.
“It has been the hardest year,” Shimer told Time. “The hardest year, without a doubt.”
Elana Meyers Taylor spoke about Holcomb’s memory after winning a silver medal.
“After the death of Steve Holcomb, I didn’t want to get in a sled,” Taylor told The Salt Lake Tribune. “So going a whole summer and not being sure if I even wanted to come back to the sport, you know, to be able to do this and have his legacy live on, it’s the least we could do and I’m honored.”
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the team plans to wear bracelets with his nickname “Night Train” written on it. Holcomb’s mother, Jean Schaefer, traveled to South Korea to cheer on Holcomb’s teammates, and to honor her son.
“I have a huge feeling inside me accepting the fact that Steven isn’t here anymore,” Schaefer told The Salt Lake Tribune. “… I am here out of respect and to support those athletes that went the extra mile for Steven. I told them I’m going to there for you. I’m going to bring Steven’s spirit and energy to you.”
According to USA Today, Holcomb suffered from the eye disorder keratoconus, and had to have corrective surgery in 2008 to help save his vision. Holcomb created a foundation to help people with the same eye disorder who could not afford to have the surgery.
Through a foundation established in Holcomb’s name to fund the surgery for those who couldn’t afford it, more than 100 people were able to receive the Holcomb C3R procedure as an alternative to a corneal transplant, which is more invasive, has a longer recovery period and requires patients to take anti-rejection medication.
Those wishing to support the cause can visit www.givingvision.org for details on how to help. The site provides details on Holcomb’s passion towards helping people through the foundation.
Codie Bascue’s sled sits in ninth place after the first day of the four-man bobsled, the best among the three American teams. (Edgar Su/Reuters)
The American bobsledders think about Steve Holcomb all the time. Any one of them will tell you that. Holcomb was the face of their sport, the one who lifted American bobsledding from on-the-cusp to gold medal-ready. And he took the time to teach others how to keep it there.
Holcomb led the United States to its first four-man bobsled gold medal in half a century with his win in Vancouver. He led the United States to a bronze in Sochi. As the four-man bobsled event ran the first of two heats at the Olympic Sliding Centre on Saturday, he should have been there, too. If he had been, things would have been different. This moment would have been his swan song, not a tribute. A medal would be within reach, not a stretch.
Holcomb passed away at 37 last May. He was found dead at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid with a blood alcohol level of 0.19 and the sleeping aid Lunesta in his system. Everyone close to him talks about his death as a tragic accident. Everyone close to him, including his U.S. bobsled teammates, is still adjusting to life without him.
A great majority of those adjustments are emotional, the changes to expectations and priorities made to work through the grief and the confusion. But some of them, the more awkward adjustments, amount to logistics. As the men’s bobsledders slogged through a disappointing showing in the two-man event, then battled inconsistency in the first two runs of the four-man Saturday, the logistical realities of Holcomb’s death became clear.
[American Devin Logan leaves PyeongChang bruised but not broken]
Holcomb finished the 2016-2017 season with the third-ranked four-man sled in the world. Even at 37, he would have a led a sled into medal contention at these Olympics. Without him, Codie Bascue inherited all the responsibilities that come with being the pilot of the top American sled. Bascue’s crew entered these Olympics ranked eighth. Justin Olsen’s sled (20th) and Nick Cunningham’s sled (22nd) entered as the United States’ second and third, respectively.
Bascue engineered the best finish through the first few heats. His sled will begin the final day in ninth place, though he had hoped his team would be closer to the top five. Olsen’s sled is 21st, which left him and his team disappointed, though they had never finished higher than ninth before. If they are outside the top 20 after their third run Sunday, they will not qualify for a fourth.
Cunningham’s sled stands 20th, though he joked the clock was broken. With warm conditions and an Olympics-worth of runs wearing away the track, many teams found themselves confused by their results. After what he thought was a solid second run, Cunningham looked up and saw a worse time than he expected. He wanted to toss his helmet in disgust.
Holcomb “is the reason I didn’t smash it on the ground,” he said. “He was very quick to forget a bad race because tomorrow is a new day. If I dwell on today, there’s nothing I could do. He’d kind of teach me to just put it behind you.”
No one on this team is prone to excuses. Bascue’s sled includes two former college track and field athletes and a former NFL player. Olsen underwent an emergency appendectomy two weeks before competition started here and was on a treadmill three days later. His sled includes Nathan Weber, a Green Beret who trained for this event in the Sahara and while under mortar fire in Afghanistan, as well as Army Capt. Christopher Fogt.
[North Korean defectors present different face at Olympics]
All of them are elite physical specimens. None of the pilots, however they try, can approach Holcomb’s racing acumen or his ability to navigate the pressures and expectations that come with the pilot’s role.
“Being a driver is not easy,” Olsen said. “. . . You just wear the pressure of everybody else. When you win, everybody’s like, ‘Yeah, you did great,’ but the other guys did pretty good, too. When you lose, they’re like, ‘Man, you suck.’ ”
Holcomb wore those pressures with ease, and they will miss him, not just for his skill but also for his insights. Holcomb could read tracks and make adjustments, things Olsen said are not as easy as they look.
When Olsen tried to take a slightly different route in his second run Saturday, one he hadn’t practiced, he couldn’t execute it, and the sled bounced around, taking seconds with it. Only the top-level drivers can make those switches on instinct, without repetition. Holcomb was one of those drivers. Olsen and his teammates are doing what they can. But some talents can’t be duplicated.
When Holcomb was in PyeongChang for the Olympic test event last year, he told reporters then he “had a good feeling” about what would happen in these Olympics. Now his death looms over these Games, which have become an awkward and reluctant rebuilding experience without him. After two runs Saturday, these Americans could become the first American bobsled team without a sled in the top 10 since Lillehammer in 1994.
“This team has been through so much this season. It’s been the hardest, most difficult season I’ve ever been a part of,” Bascue said. “So to come out tomorrow and do something really special, to kind of finish where we want, would be amazing.”
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(Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jean Schaefer and Brian Boxer Wachler watch as Team USA bobsledders race at Olympi... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jean Schaefer and Brian Boxer Wachler watch as Team USA bobsledders race at Olympi... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jean Schaefer cheers on Team USA bobsledders at Olympic Sliding Centre during the ... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jean Schaefer and Brian Boxer Wachler cheer on Team USA bobsledders at Olympic Sli... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jean Schaefer laughs while recalling good memories about her son Steven Holcomb du... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jean Schaefer wears a 'Night Train' bracelet while talking about her son Steven Ho... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brian Boxer Wachler wears a Superman and Vancouver 2010 pin at Olympic Sliding Ce... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brian Boxer Wachler talks about Steven Holcomb during an interview at the Pyeongch... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jean Schaefer talks about her son Steven Holcomb during an interview at the Pyeong... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jean Schaefer laughs while recalling good memories about her son Steven Holcomb du... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brian Boxer Wachler and Jean Schaefer talk about Steven Holcomb during an intervie... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brian Boxer Wachler and Jean Schaefer talk about Steven Holcomb during an intervie... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jean Schaefer laughs while recalling good memories about her son Steven Holcomb du... Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune Steven Holcomb poses for a portrait during the Team USA Media Summit at the Canyons G... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 22: Night Train 2, piloted by Steven Holcomb and pushed by Chris Fogt, Curtis Tomasevicz,... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 22: Park City's Steven Holcomb talks with USA skeleton athlete Katie Uhlaender before his... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 17: Pilot Steven Holcomb, left, and brakeman Steven Langton, celebrate after competing in... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 17: Pilot Steven Holcomb celebrates after competing in the men's two-man bobsled at Sanki... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 17: USA-1, piloted by Steven Holcomb and brakeman Steven Langton, competes in the men's t... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 23: USA's Steven Holcomb, Chris Fogt, Curtis Tomasevicz, and Steve Langton, celebrate dur... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 23: USA's Steven Holcomb, Chris Fogt, Curtis Tomasevicz, and Steve Langton, celebrate aft... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 23: USA's pilot Steven Holcomb celebrates after the four-man bobsled at Sanki Sliding Cen... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 17: USA bobsled Head Coach Brian Shimer, left, congratulates pilot Steven Holcomb, as Chr... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 23: USA's Steven Holcomb, Chris Fogt, Curtis Tomasevicz, and Steve Langton, celebrate dur... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 23: USA's Steven Holcomb, Chris Fogt, Curtis Tomasevicz, and Steve Langton, celebrate dur... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 23: Night Train 2, piloted by Steven Holcomb and pushed by Chris Fogt, Curtis Tomasevicz,... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 23: Night Train 2, piloted by Steven Holcomb and pushed by Chris Fogt, Curtis Tomasevicz,... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 22: Night Train 2, piloted by Steven Holcomb and pushed by Chris Fogt, Curtis Tomasevicz,... KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA - JANUARY 22: Night Train 2, piloted by Steven Holcomb and pushed by Chris Fogt, Curtis Tomasevicz,... SOCHI, RUSSIA - JANUARY 7: Bobsled athlete Steven Holcomb, left behind flag bearer Todd Lodwick, and team USA are introduced... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Team USA's Nick Cunningham, Hakeem Abdul-Saboor, Christopher Kinney and Sam Miche... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) (multiple exposure image) Team USA's Codie Bascue, Evan Weinstock, Steven Langton ... (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Team USA's Nick Cunningham, Hakeem Abdul-Saboor, Christopher Kinney and Sam Miche...
Remembering Team USA bobsled star Steve Holcomb
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The bobsled community was rocked by Steve Holcomb's death in 2017.
