BALTIMORE — A Maryland athlete has achieved what many consider impossible in Olympic sports: qualifying for the Winter Olympics in bobsledding after less than two years in the sport.
Bryan Sosoo, who was born in Ghana but spent most of his life in Prince George's County and Howard County, has earned a spot on Team USA's bobsledding team for the upcoming Winter Olympics. His rapid rise to Olympic competition defies the typical timeline for the sport.
A athlete based in Maryland has qualified for the Winter Olympics in bobsledding. Here him speak on his journey to this point.
"This has been an 18-month journey for me, which is not the norm. But I think a lot of the capabilities and skills that I had from track and field translated well. The high-performance nature and experience I gained there help me adapt to this sport," Sosoo said.
Sosoo describes bobsledding as an intense experience that requires mental and physical toughness.
"It's like putting either a bathtub or a refrigerator on ice or just downhill and sending it, so you don't have any cushion, you don't have any padding," he said. "And you're feeling and you're hearing everything as you're going down the hill."
His journey began at a rookie camp in Lake Placid, New York. The breakthrough moment came during the Push Championships in September 2025, where he finished fifth and qualified for the World Cup team.
The selection process for the Olympic team involved careful evaluation by USA Bobsled and Skeleton officials.
"Ultimately, it came down to a committee of 5 members on our USA USABS board that took a look at all the data that was collected throughout the year from start times to height and weight to trends to velocity and kind of made the best assessment as to who are the best guys to put on the ice in order to give us the best chance at potentially medaling at these Olympic Games," Sosoo said.
Sosoo's Olympic competition begins Friday, February 21 in Italy, where he will represent both his country and his Maryland hometown in pursuit of a gold medal.
For aspiring athletes, Sosoo offers advice about achieving ambitious goals.
"When you set your sights on something, really think about what is that plan, how do you put it together? Don't think of it as the longer journey because sometimes that longer journey can be overwhelming, but when you think about things in their small components, they're a lot more achievable," he said.
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