Curt Tomasevicz
Episode 148
29 NOV 2021
He competed for the U.S. National Bobsled Team from 2004 to 2014, qualifying for three Olympics (2006, 2010, 2014). On the four-man team, he earned two Olympic medals (gold in 2010 and silver in 2014) and nine World Championship medals. During his years as a student-athlete he played football for the University of Nebraska as both a running back and linebacker, earning Academic All-Conference honors along the way. Present day he is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and this past May was appointed as Director of Sports Performance at USA Bobsled and Skeleton.
Notable guest quotes:
“I have one brother… and then my parents… pretty typical Catholic family… (I) was an altar boy for ten years and was participating in the Mass quite a bit that way.”
“I was understanding that God’s plan just didn’t include the NFL for me.”
“The Newman Center at the University of Nebraska… there’s a lot of activities and associations… I became an acolyte while attending those programs.”
“Through the football team… we always had Mass available to us before games.”
“My faith was a big part of my college life.”
“People hear that I spent ten years on the bobsled team. So, I’ve started to use that platform a little bit to try to use it to spread a positive message about my faith.”
“When I started bobsledding, I kind of had a few things that I would do in the morning; read a short scripture, be prayerful … but it… really became part of my daily routine… after my first crash… I’m kind of proud of this, actually. But, my first instinct was, when I felt my head hit the ice, there was a big impact, and immediately I started saying Hail Marys.”
“Every time I’d walk to the line, I’d pray about safety for myself and my team but also my competitors and everybody involved. And that really became kind of my bobsled prayer routine, was to think about safety, think about all my competitors and athletes that are there more than just winning and losing.”
“I kept having these moments of ‘What should I do next? Where do I go? What should I do? How do I have that same kind of fulfillment in my life?’ And that’s kind of when I talked to a priest… and he always told me whenever things are difficult… go back to God.”
“So many athletes, part of their story is overcoming some kind of injury or adversity that way. And I was very blessed, and I always tell people that, in fact, I’ve never pulled a muscle.”
“I was offered an opportunity to attend this Christians Encounter Christ weekend… leaving there, I’ll tell anybody that ever asks, how rejuvenated and excited I was.”
Related link:
Curt’s bio from U. of Nebraska
