Two South Texas Athletes Have Olympic Sized Dreams

KiiiTV.com South Texas, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend

GREGORY (Kiii News) – They have never stepped foot on ice, yet two South Texas athletes are doing what some say is a long shot.

The two are currently training in hopes of making it to the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The sport? Bobsled and Skeleton events.

Our Bill Churchwell caught up with the two locals to find out what inspired these guys to go for the gold.

Zeph Littleton and Josh Safarik have Olympic size dreams. The two are training to compete against athletes from across the U.S. for a once in a lifetime opportunity. They are competing to make it all the way to the American bobsled and skeleton team in time for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

You might know what bob-sledding is, but the two are also trying out for an event called skeleton. That is where a rider lies on their stomach on a sled as they zoom down a frozen track at 80 miles an hour.

Their goal might not be as far fetched as you might think.

Zeph, an Iraq veteran and Josh who served with the U.S. Coast Guard have been friends since high school in Rockport.

Now, both are coaches at a gym called Crossfit XLR8 in Gregory.

Its where they first got the idea from one of Zeph’s clients.

Just this past summer, both competed against other athletes to qualify for the next step in their olympic dream.

It was just this month when the got the news that they indeed made it. Soon they will be traveling to Lake Placid, New York for a week long session with an Olympic coach.

Since then, Josh and Zeph have put their training into overdrive, pushing each other to be at their best.

They’ve got the power and speed to push a 400 pound bobsled, but the cold weather is another story.

We asked, ” have those two feet ever set foot on ice? Zeph said, “No! They haven’t!”

Amazingly the two have never been in a real bob sled either.

The closest they’ve come is by improvising with a long board, a track, and a helmet.

Both are hoping their hard work pays off by going the distance, all the way to the Olympics.

They’ll actually get a chance to train in a real bobsled beginning November 2nd in Lake Placid, New York.

The two say they are committed to going all the way, but they do need the community’s backing.

If you would like to follow them, follow this link. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/south-texas-bobsled-team