Todd Hays
Todd Hays
Todd Dennys Haysis an American former bobsledder who competed from 1994 to 2006. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he won the silver medal in the four-man event at Salt Lake City in 2002, breaking a 46-year medal drought for the US national bobsleigh team...
drive hurting pull track
This track is different. You've got to drive a lot more than I like to drive. I don't like to pull on the ropes. I like to let the sled fly. And it's really hurting me here in Italy. I can't get used to the idea of yanking the sled around and it's really killing my splits.
ability athletes baseball battery drivers few football push run speed summer trying year
It's much like any other team, like a baseball team, a football team, where each year we have guys, older, veterans, all trying out for the same few spots. Each year, every summer they push athletes and drivers are evaluated on their speed and strength, and ability to push a sled. They run through a battery of tests.
blood drive extreme foot funny hit originally pain quickly realized run split start worse
It kind of clipped my foot and split through it. The pain started to get extreme and originally I thought I just hit a funny bone. I still had to drive the sled down the track, but then I could just feel the blood to start to run out of my shoe. When I got to the bottom, I quickly realized it was worse than I thought.
across drive needed runner sit whatever
What I don't want to do is come across like I'm making excuses. I need to get it done with whatever runner I'm on. I'm not going to sit here and say it's all runners. I needed to drive better. I needed to find a way to get it done, and I didn't do that.
again driver
The old driver just didn't get it done again today.
bottom buddies certainly continue driver exciting frame gets less mph piano pushes remember scary searching speeds start steel suspension top
I thought the driver must have been unconscious and that we certainly were going to die. You have to remember on these bobsleds, there's no suspension and it's a steel frame mounted to a steel axle. When you start approaching speeds of 90 mph you can feel every vibration. It's like some someone pushes a piano on you and pushes you to the bottom of the sled. You go up to the top and you see your buddies doing it over and over again, so you want to continue to do it. As you do it, it gets less scary and more exciting and then you start searching for the speed.
blood couple drive lost pain rushing
The pain was extreme. I still had to drive the sled down the track. I could feel the blood rushing out of my shoe. That's when I got concerned. I thought I'd lost a couple toes.
almost best deserved guys hill indication olympic talented time top velocity
We had the best velocity on the top of the hill almost every time and that's an indication that your brakeman is loading and accelerating into the sled better than anybody. I think he's one of the most talented guys in our sport. He deserved an Olympic medal.
advantages engineers expose great learn people protect quickly realize seem
People don't realize the technological advantages that can make a difference. And there are rules, but great engineers seem to find the loopholes. And, of course, they don't want to expose that. You learn pretty quickly that you want to protect your intellectual property.
beat good happy seem start together trips
Could be worse. Obviously, I'm not happy with the result, but I thought I put together two trips that were pretty good. The sled didn't seem to be working today. We didn't have a good start today. We got beat all the way around it. There's really no excuses, no regrets.
athletes good hang talk
We get to hang out with some of the other athletes in the lounge. We talk to them and find out about their sports. It's good getting to know them and their experience.
event fast hoping pull quick
Four-man is my event really. I haven't been quick here but I've been fast in the four-man. I'm hoping we can pull it off.
anyone cost mistake
If anyone else had a mistake like that, it would have cost them 15 places.
care coming leave margin tomorrow track
I don't care what the margin is. We're coming out tomorrow and we're going to leave everything on the track and see what happens.