Dan Barefoot’s first Olympic Games are officially in the books. While the Pennsylvania native’s racing time in Italy might be over, the memories are far from finished.
Supported by countless Team USA fans, including his siblings, Erin and David, and parents Becky and Barry Barefoot, Dan’s improbable Olympic journey became a reality.
Even though Barefoot talked about the mental and physical toll the Olympics takes out of an individual, being an Olympian is still so surreal for him.
“It takes so much to just accept what’s going on,” he said. “I think that’s a lot of it. You just have to accept that you are at the Olympics. Everything that you’ve been dreaming about is here.”
For those unfamiliar with skeleton, it‘s easy to underestimate how long it takes to prepare equipment and how long athletes train every week. Additionally, most athletes have full-time jobs outside of training to be an Olympian.
The sled is one of the keys to success, and so are the mental reps.
“We only go down the track for one minute, but to get good at that, it takes hours and hours and hours of mentally doing it,” Barefoot said. “Like closing your eyes and pretending you’re doing it -- lying on a sled and watching YouTube videos from past races. Working on your equipment is way more time than a lot of people prefer, but I’m a hands-on kind of guy, and I like that kind of stuff.”
Barefoot was only expected to compete in the skeleton men’s singles competition, where he finished 20th in the world with a 3:49.86. But to his surprise, the day before the mixed skeleton competition, he found out he would be racing again.
On Sunday, he raced with Team USA teammate Kelly Curtis in the mixed doubles. Each athlete had one run, and both of their times were combined for an overall time for the mixed competition. The pair finished 10th out of 15 teams, with Curtis notching a 1:01.30 and Barefoot finishing with a 1:00.13.
Meeting Flavor Flav and other celebrities he’d grown up watching will always stick with Barefoot.
“We’re talking to celebrities, people that you watch growing up on TV and now they’re like dapping you up every time you see them,” he said. “And you’re like, ‘please no, I’m not worthy.’”
Even though it still sometimes feels like an out-of-body experience for Barefoot to be an Olympian living in the Olympic village, wearing Team USA special Olympic athlete gear, and walking in the Olympic Opening Ceremony, these will be moments he will never forget.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW