kyletress

Thank you!

No the conditions are not bad at all, at least in the Village. I wash my face and brush my teeth with the water, and so do my teammates. We've all been fine. We agree that it's mostly been blown out of proportion.

Once I return to the U.S. (25th), we can set up a date and time! I'd love to be on the show.

Definitely not insane. I like to think of skeleton athletes as being just a little eccentric. You sort of have to be to enjoy the sport and to be competitive, because there are certainly scary moments.

I found skeleton by accident, really. In 2002 during the Salt Lake City Olympics, I clicked a link on the Yahoo! homepage that said 'Third Generation Olympian Wins Gold in Skeleton'. I had no idea what skeleton was, but something about that headline caught my interest. As soon as I saw it, I knew immediately it was for me. I registered for a training camp in the summer, a skeleton school in the winter (in Lake Placid), and after my very first trip down the track I decided to commit to making the Olympic Team.

I haven't had much of an appetite since arriving, maybe due to nerves. The cafeteria has a pretty good selection though, with chicken, veggies, and potatoes being among my favorite. (and pizza!)

There's also free McDonald's at the Coastal Village. I want to break Usain Bolt's chicken McNugget record. He claims he ate 1000 in London. I'm at 18.

It's probably different for everyone, but for me it's very peaceful. I know for the brief time I'm on the sled, I have nothing else in the world to think of or worry about. It's a moment of pure focus for my otherwise scattered and ADD brain.

Then there's the speed and acceleration. It's addicting.