CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — At over 90 miles per hour, Chris Fogt’s Olympic dream flipped upside down.
In 2010, ranked third in the world and surrounded by family and colleagues in Vancouver, Fogt crashed in his first Olympic run, leaving him and his three teammates watching from the sidelines as fellow Americans — including one of his mentors, Steven Holcomb — won a gold medal.
“To go through stuff like that and then think four more years is just a long, long way away to train and get yourself back there. It’s 1,460 days if I’m not mistaken,” Fogt said. “I think having failed my first time at it and crashed definitely was probably the hardest thing to come back from and have the confidence that I could be successful and have a good result in the future.”
Three months after Vancouver, Fogt traded his Olympic uniform for a military one, deploying to Iraq as part of his service in the U.S. Army. He has spent nearly two decades serving in the Army and now holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Four years later, Fogt was back on the world stage, this time being led by Holcomb as his pilot.
“He was from Utah. He was an Eagle Scout as well. He was in the Army. I watched him win a gold medal in 2010,” Fogt said. “It was really cool to have a chance to be on his sled and race with someone who’s that great. For us, he’s like the LeBron James or the Tom Brady for Team USA bobsled.”
Fogt saw this as a moment of redemption, viewing Russia as the perfect backdrop to make it happen.
“Growing up in the 80s and 90s watching Rocky IV during the Cold War, with my dad in the Army, it was surreal to compete in Russia,” Fogt said. “The culture, the opening ceremony, the way they promoted themselves — it was really cool racing for the Stars and Stripes against the Hammer and Sickle.”
After one of the most devastating moments of his career, Fogt completed the full-circle redemption when he earned a silver medal, finishing just 0.30 seconds behind Latvia for gold.
Now, 12 years later, Fogt stands on the Olympic stage once again — not as an athlete pushing a sled, but as the head coach leading Team USA.
Having served in the military since beginning ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) training in 2007 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Fogt understands what it means to lead — both in uniform and on the ice — balancing his roles as a soldier and an athlete throughout his career.
Nine months before his final Olympic Games as an athlete in 2018, one of Fogt’s biggest inspirations, Holcomb, tragically passed away at 37 years old. The Games marked Fogt’s last as a competitor before transitioning into a leadership role as head coach.
Fogt said racing alongside Holcomb shaped how he approaches both pressure and leadership.
“To be able to be on his sled and really see what excellence all is about and how to achieve those high goals and perform under pressure was very cool to witness," he said.
Now, as head coach, Fogt knows all too well what it means to represent the United States of America, combining his love for the country towards his passion for success in the sled.
For Fogt, representing the United States has never been limited to one uniform.
“It’s everything. I bleed red, white, and blue. I've always loved this country. My dad was in the Army, grandfathers in the Marine Corps," Fogt said. "Being a Boy Scout, I wore the flag on my shirt all the time. And now I’ve traveled the world not only in bobsled but in the Army.”
Now leading the U.S. bobsled team from the sidelines, Fogt carries that same sense of purpose into his role as head coach.
“It's honestly helping people realize their potential,” Fogt said. “I think we're our worst critics and we're the hardest on ourselves. I think to get someone to understand with the right framework, the right perspective, and with a lot of hard work, what they're truly capable of achieving.”
Much of that leadership approach, he says, was shaped long before he stepped into a coaching role.
“The Army is, again, the best place to learn leadership lessons, how to manage people, how to build teams,” Fogt said. “In the Army, we move every two or three years. You constantly have people coming into your unit, so you learn that fast."
That constant turnover, he said, taught him how to quickly build culture and lead people from different backgrounds, races and religions — something that has translated directly to the bobsled team. Like the military, the sport brings together athletes from across the country who must unite under one mission in a short amount of time.
Beyond military structure and competitive drive, Fogt also leans on his faith as an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
“I would say having trust in a higher power and asking for guidance to lead my team — each athlete is unique and different,” Fogt said. “I definitely keep in tune with that spiritual aspect. I try to be the best leader I can be and provide them with things they might need in their life. Having the faith to get inspiration to accomplish that is probably the way I use it the most.”
As Fogt continues to guide Team USA into a new Olympic chapter, the same principles that carried him through crashes, deployments and podium finishes as he transitions his enthusiasm in being a leader both in the army and in bobsled.