Fast Track
Ten years after she graduated from Springfield College, Kelly Curtis made history as the first Black skeleton athlete to compete in the Olympics for Team USA.
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By Collin Atwood
Photography by Springfield Athletics and Getty Images
eading into the final event of the heptathlon at the 2012 NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships in Claremont, Calif., Kelly Curtis held sole possession of first place with the second place competitor trailing by 81 points. After six grueling events, the odds of the New Jersey native running away with the title were becoming more likely. As a senior in college who had a lifetime of athletic competitions under her belt, finishing her collegiate career on top would have been ideal. Unfortunately, Curtis came down with a sickness that made the 800-meter run particularly challenging. She excelled in every other event of the heptathlon, but when it came down to the finale, Curtis huffed and puffed her way to 18th place. This final run – of the competition and her college career – resulted in her dropping to fifth on the leaderboard. “I’ll never forget her coming to me afterwards saying ‘I’m sorry dad,’” said Curtis’ father, John. “I thought that was the end of her competitive days.” Little did John or anyone else know, Curtis’ competitive days were only just beginning.
After Curtis graduated from Springfield College in 2012, she made her way to St. Lawrence University to pursue a masters degree in educational leadership. But because of her strength and conditioning coach at Springfield, Daniel Jaffe, she decided to put her attention somewhere else. Jaffe thought that Curtis possessed the necessary abilities - power, explosiveness and speed - that it took to be successful in the sport of bobsled. Her skillset reminded Jaffe of another heptathlete who competed for the Pride, which led to him promoting the fast-paced sledding sport to Curtis. This particular athlete was Erin Pac Blumert ‘03, who earned a bronze medal in bobsled at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. “Speed and strength are the key factors essential for a quality start,” Jaffe said. “With Kelly’s talent, motivation, and drive to succeed no matter the challenge, it seemed like a perfect fit.” Jaffe’s assessment of Curtis’ skills were correct. After trying bobsled in the summer of 2013, she was invited to a driving school in Lake Placid, a village in the Adirondack Mountains in New York, that December.
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