Courtesy of Plattsburgh Sports Information Department
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Former Plattsbrugh State track and field student-athlete John Daly has been named to the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team in the sport of skeleton, as announced today by USA Bobsled and Skeleton.
Daly is one of four skeleton athletes (two females and two males) named to Team USA at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea in February. The PyeongChang Games mark Daly's third Olympic appearance.
Daly is looking for his first Olympic medal after finishing 17th at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada, and 15th at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
The Smithtown, N.Y., native retired after the 2014 Olympic Winter Games but made his skeleton comeback during the 2016-17 season.
"I went for one more Olympics because I never wanted to look back and say 'what if,'" Daly professed. "I thought it was impossible to qualify with a year of training and a full-time job. But I'm a dreamer, and I am proof that you're never too old to dream a new dream. I am officially a three-time Olympian."
Daly attended SUNY Plattsburgh from 2004-08 where he was a standout track and field athlete. Daly holds program records in the pentathlon, decathlon and long jump. He was named an All-American in 2007 in the decathlon after scoring 6,786 points at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
"Running track and field through college helped my skeleton career because we sprint at the beginning of a skeleton race," Daly said. "We do a 30-meter sprint in grooves that keep us controlled. We jump on the sled when the grooves end and drive wherever we want. The 30-meter sprint really depends on how fast you are, so that helped me in sprinting through college."
Also making his second Olympic appearance in the sport of skeleton is former Plattsburgh State student Matt Antoine. Antoine won the bronze medal in men's skeleton at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
The PyeongChang Games kick off Friday, Feb. 9, and will conclude Sunday, Feb. 25. Skeleton will be contested Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 15-17, and competition will be held at the Olympic Sliding Center in the PyeongChang Mountain Cluster.
