Sports

Melrose Native Steve Langton to Compete with U.S. Bobsled Team at Winter Olympics

Melrose native and bobsledder Steve Langton will be competing at the Winter Olympics in February in Sochi, Russia.

When the Winter Olympics get underway in February in Sochi, Russia, keep a close eye out for the U.S. bobsled team and Melrose native Steve Langton as they make a run for the gold medal.

Langton, who participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver but did not earn a medal, is a member of Steve Holcomb’s four-man team and a favorite for gold, according to a Boston Globe report. Holcomb helped snap a 62-year Olympic gold medal drought for the Americans in 2010, winning both the four-man and two-man bobsled world championship titles in 2012, adds the report.

Langton, a former member of the track and field team at Northeastern University, may be pushing for Holcomb in the two-man event at this year's Winter Olympics.

"He’s hands-down the best push athlete in the world," Holcomb said of Langton in the report. "He’s been that way for a couple years now, and I don’t see him letting up anytime soon.

"Having him on the brakes takes a lot of pressure off me in the two-man, knowing I’m going to have a great start and great velocity down the hill, that right there takes a lot of pressure off me from knowing I have to be perfect. I can give myself a little bit of ability to make some mistakes, and not have to have a perfect run every single time out and that’s huge. There are a lot of drivers out here that don’t have that kind of start and it puts the pressure on."

The Melrosian's bobsledding achievements include winning Rookie of the Year, and a year later claimed the U.S. National Push Championship title, according to the report.

To read the complete Boston Globe report, click here.

Past Coverage

Melrose's Langton Wins Bobsled World Championship

Langton Returns Home With Bobsled Bronze

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