From comfort to commitment
An Olympic run lasts under a minute. His took more than a decade.
- Growing up
Johnstown, then Penn State
Thirteen years in the Richland School District, then a landscape architecture degree from Penn State in 2013 and a career in West Chester, PA. Becoming an Olympian was never a childhood dream.
- December 2013
A search that changed everything
Looking for a new challenge one snowy night, Dan stumbled onto a list of Olympic sports and found skeleton, a sport where athletes often arrive late from other backgrounds. Why not see how far it could go?
- 2014–2016
Training in secret
He kept the idea to himself and kept working. A 1,000-mile move, a tonsillectomy that cost him 14% of his body weight and a back injury all got in the way. He never let it go.
- May 2, 2016 · 9:48 a.m.
Finally committing
He registered for a USA Bobsled & Skeleton combine in Bradenton, Florida. On July 9 he showed up as a landscape architect nobody knew.
- August 11, 2016
Invited to Lake Placid
An invitation to rookie camp at the Olympic Training Center. One problem: he had never ridden a skeleton sled.
- 2016–2022
Years of small steps
Rookie camp became development races. Development races became international competition, at up to 80+ mph, head-first, while still working full time.
- 2023–2025
The world stage
His first World Championships in St. Moritz, a European Cup silver in Bludenz, 4th in a mixed team World Cup in Winterberg, then 11th at the 2025 Worlds in Lake Placid.
- 10 days out
The biggest test
A serious incident in training nearly ended the journey just before the Games. Hospitals, rehab and uncertainty, with qualification waiting for no one.
- February 2026
Olympian
Dan raced for the United States in Cortina, Italy, in men's skeleton and the mixed team event, representing his family, his supporters and Johnstown.
- Next
Salt Lake City 2029 → France 2030
"This time, I'm not wondering whether I belong in the sport. I'm pursuing how far I can go within it."