Engineering The Ideal Olympian: A Chat With Katie Uhlaender

Tuesday, January 14, 2014 - 18:06 in Psychology & Sociology

Katie Uhlaender NBC Olympics/USOC Katie Uhlaender’s career in skeleton has featured some notable highs, such as winning the World Cup two seasons in a row. She hopes to add an Olympic medal at Sochi, where as part of the U.S. skeleton team, she’ll be competing with a new carbon-fiber sled. Excelling in skeleton requires physical strength, determination, and the perverse ability to enjoy sliding downhill at high speeds without brakes and with no steering system other than your body. Uhlaender has all three qualities in high abundance. Skeleton made appearances in the 1928 and 1948 Olympics, and then didn’t reappear until 2002. How did you get involved with the sport? KU: I started skeleton when I was 19. A girl I met at high school talked me into trying it, and eight weeks later I was national champion. Do...

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