Former Griz football player has Olympic aspirations

Gage Smith had never been in a bobsled before last year. But the former walk-on for the University of Montana football team is no stranger to a big challenge.

The 23-year-old Whitefish native is currently doing six weeks of training in Lake Placid, New York, with the U.S. bobsled team, hoping to represent the country at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Smith was not actively recruited by USA Bobsled. He said the idea “started out as kind of a joke” between him and his college roommate, former Montana track-and-field athlete Alex Mustard. They watched the sport during the 2018 Olympics, talked about giving it a shot and filled out an online athlete resume.

“We were like, ‘How does somebody even get into bobsled?’” Smith said, speaking to the Inter Lake from training camp in Lake Placid.

But Smith’s resume and stature as a college-football linebacker made him a prime candidate to be one of the “big bruisers” a successful bobsled team needs, he said.

“They look for ex-college athletes … they want the biggest, fastest, most explosive guys hitting the sled at the top because it comes down to tenths and hundredths of a second at the end of the race. And if you can make up that time at the top of the track by how hard and fast you push the sled that’s obviously the better.”

The U.S. bobsled coaches clearly liked what they saw from Smith, and invited him – and his roommate, Mustard – to rookie camp.

“It was a great group of rookies and we had a ton of fun. Pushed pretty well – or well enough at least – and got an invite to come back to National Push Champs,” Smith said.

Smith said the sport was thrown at him fast, and there was nothing “natural” about the skills it took to push and maneuver a bobsled.

“It’s like a pulley-cable system under the sled. There’s certain places where you have to get on the corners, and you’re inverted. It’s just a completely new experience,” Smith said.

He said the team is short on pilots, which means Smith has to do a lot more driving than he normally would.

“It’s the only way for us to get on ice, and I guess it’s just good experience for anyone getting into the sport to do that little pilot school. So, we’ve actually been driving them [the sleds], which has been quite the experience so far ... definitely gets the adrenaline going,” Smith said.

He said that for everyone at rookie camp, the goal is to make the Olympic team for the 2022 games. But Smith is realistic about the challenges ahead.

“It’s a sport where especially for us rookies, we’ve got to take it one day at a time. We’re learning so much every day right now. It’s a slow process and there’s a ton of work that has to be put in,” Smith said.

However, Smith’s bobsledding career nearly ended as soon as it began. While Smith was invited to return to Lake Placid for the National Push Championships, he had already spent too much money to attend rookie camp and could not afford another quick trip to New York. He was working at a sporting goods store at the time.

Smith had a number of full-time job offers after graduation and was “intrigued by the idea of having a job and income” after his time as a student-athlete. Although he missed the National Push Championships, he and Mustard were still invited to return to Lake Placid for six weeks of training.

“It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so we just decided that we were gonna move forward with it and make it happen,” Smith said.

While Team USA pays for food and lodging during these six weeks of at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, the financial commitment is daunting. Everything else he does this season is “completely unfunded,” Smith said.

That includes taking part in the North American Cup circuit, which Smith called the “JV team of Team USA.” The athletes are responsible for paying for food, travel and lodging throughout the circuit, during which they might travel to bobsled tracks in Park City, Utah, or Whistler, British Columbia.

Smith talked to other athletes and tried to figure out how much money will get him through the racing season, then launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with those costs.

“If we were to run out of money during the season, that would just be it for us. So we needed a number that was going to definitely get us through the season as well as take care of everyday expenses because we still have rent to pay back home,” Smith said.

“We won’t be working for four to five months, so we’ll have no source of income either.”

He’s raised nearly $4,000 so far on GoFundMe, but had other donations sent to him privately. He said it is a “humbling, awkward thing” to publicly ask for money, but is encouraged by the support systems he’s established and “great people” he’s met during his upbringing in Montana.

Smith grew up in Whitefish, where he was more focused on playing ice hockey and football than the common pastime of skiing.

“Obviously being from Whitefish, I skied a little bit here and there. My friends ski, girlfriend skis and all that ... I guess I kind of am still the outcast because I don’t ski very much,” Smith said.

Whitefish does not have a bobsled track – there are only four in North America – so being an Olympic bobsledder was not exactly on the table. But growing up in Montana still gives him an advantage over some of the other rookie bobsledders: He is not bothered by the cold.

“There’s some guys here who are from Texas or South Carolina,” Smith said.

“Especially playing football at the University of Montana, those late-season practices or playoff practices, that’s some cold weather we’re playing in. We’d practice in the evenings, you’re practicing and it’s pitch-black out, the wind’s blowing ... Those are some brutal ones,” Smith said.

He is extraordinarily thankful for the support he’s received so far.

“That’s such a big reason this has been possible, the support of my community, family and friends. And I just hope everyone really knows how truly grateful I am to even get this experience this far ... A long way to go in this sport, hopefully, but I’m just very, very grateful where I am right now,” Smith said.

You can learn more about Smith’s story and contribute to his fundraising campaign at www.gofundme.com/f/gagesmithbobsled.

Reporter Colin Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or cgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.