Bill Schuffenhauer (born June 24, 1973) is an American

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

der who has competed since 2000. Competing in three

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

, he won the silver medal in the four-man event at

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Early years

Bill grew up in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and as a child, his mother was a prostitute and drug addict who was often beaten in front of him.Bill's natural father attempted to take young Bill out of Utah and give him a home, but Bill's mother and family reported young Bill as being "kidnapped" and the Salt Lake City Police threatened Bill's natural father with kidnapping charges if young Bill wasn't returned to his mother. Olympian's strength built from life on the streets (Speakermatch.com)
- accessed January 1, 2010 He had to steal, to eat from trash cans, and once was caught trying to break into a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

store to try to steal something to sell for food. The few friends he had were mostly in street gangs, and Bill drank and smoked

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

often. His mother was often evicted, and he lived in foster homes. Schuffenhauer's maternal grandmother, Sadie Muniz, took him in as he was about to enter junior high in

Roy, Utah Roy is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States, located on the west side of Interstate 15. The population estimate in 2019 was 39,613, an increase of 5.8% from 36,884 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Ogden− Clearfield, Utah Metropo ...

. "She reminded me to never give up and always push on," he said.

Athletic career

Because of his grandmother's influence, he began going to school and started to participate in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

at Roy High School, due to his great speed. He persevered to become an Olympian, and his coaches encouraged him greatly as well. He soon became a

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...

. He went to

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

and there he won the junior nationals in 1992. Additionally he played

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Olympics career

Schuffenhauer's Olympics dream as a track and field athlete came to an end in 2000. While training for

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, he suffered a bad ankle injury and he could barely walk. When his friend told him that the

U.S. Olympic team United States of America (USA) has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern era Olympic Games, except for the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American athletes have w ...

was practicing

bobsledding Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

Park City Park City may refer to: a city in Utah. Places * National Park City, London, England, UK; see parks and open spaces in London in the United States * Park City, Illinois * Park City, Kansas * Park City, Kentucky * Park City, Montana * Park City, ...

, he took the chance to go and observe. While there, the team members noticed his 6-foot, 200 pound frame and asked him he wanted to be a pusher. He accepted and trained with the team from then on. He was not originally slated to be a regular member, but was promoted when one of the U.S. four-man team members tested positive for steroids. That crew, piloted by Todd Hays, won a silver medal at the Salt Lake Games. At the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Torino, Italy Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

, Bill's two-man team placed 14th, after which he retired. He had two children and he felt responsible for them.

Bobsledders Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

earn only a meager amount, but Bill made the tough decision to continue to aspire for qualification for

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. He fought through a neck injury (2 herniated disks) with the help of a

chiropractor Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscie ...

and a

team physician The team physician for a sports team is the physician who is in charge of coordinating the medical staff and medical services for a sports team. They are also subject to activities involving team building The goal of a team physician is to improve p ...

. In January 2010, in

St. Moritz, Switzerland St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...

, Bill and his 3 USA teammates placed sixth and qualified for

and it was officially announced on January 17, 2010 that Bill's team would represent the United States at

. They finished 13th in the four-man event. "The dream is happening right now. I'm here. That's all I wanted," he said. Then he added, "It would be nice to get a medal of any color."

Personal life

Schuffenhauer attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

in 2016. He was saved by his girlfriend. Speculation has arisen that Schuffenhauer's attempt was related to brain trauma suffered during his bobsledding career, similar to CTE that boxers and other sportsmen who suffer repeated minor concussions face.

Olympic career highlights

* 2002 Silver Medal in the four-man during the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah * 2001-02 results in the four-man -GOLD in Verizon Champ Series (Race #2) (1/02), 4th in Verizon National Trials (10/01) * 2002-2003 World Cup as brakeman for Todd Hays in the two-man -SILVER in Calgary (2/03), 8th in Winterberg (1/03), 5th in St. Moritz (1/03), 6th in Cortina (12/02), 4th in Igls (12/02) * 2002-2003 World Cup as brakeman for Todd Hays in the two-man -5th in Calgary (2/03), 6th in Winterberg (1/03), 6th in Cortina (12/02), GOLD in Lake Placid (11/02) * 2003

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

four-man event with a silver * 2004

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

four-man event with a bronze * 2004-2005 World Cup as push athlete for Todd Hays in the four-man -GOLD in Winterberg (11/04), GOLD in Altenberg (12/04), SILVER in Igls (12/04), 4th in Cortina (12/04), 5th in four-man bobsled at World Championships in Calgary (2/05) * 2004-2005 World Cup as brakeman for driver Todd Hays in the two-man -9th in Cortina (12/04) * 2005-2006 World Cup as push athlete for Steve Holcomb and Todd Hays in the four-man-9th in Calagary (11/05), 6th in Lake Placid (11/05), 4th in Igls (12/05), GOLD in Cortina (12/05), 11th in Konigssee (1/06) * 2005-2006 World Cups as brakeman for Steve Holcomb in the two-man-8th in Konigssee (01/06) * 2006 Olympian at Torino Games finishing sixth in the four-man and 14th in the two-man * 2008-2009 World Cup as push athlete in the four-man -13th in Winterberg (11/09), 19th in Altenberg (12/08), 9th in Igls (12/08), 9th in Konigssee (1/09), 5th in St. Moritz (1/09), 5th in Whistler (2/09)-9th at World Championships in Lake Placid (2/09) * 2009-2010 World Cup as push athlete for Mike Kohn in the four-man-14th in Lake Placid (11/09), 22nd in Konigssee (1/10), 6th in St. Moritz (1/10), 17th in Igls (1/10) * 2009-2010 World Cup as push athlete for Mike Kohn in the two-man -18th in Igls (1/10) * 2009 U.S. Bobsled Push Championship took 9th * 2010

finished 13th in the four-man event

References

External links

Bio written by Bill Schuffenhauer

Q Sports - Bill Schuffenhauer

Huffington Post Article

FIBT profile

Bill Schuffenhauer
at the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuffenhauer, Bill 1973 births American male bobsledders American male decathletes Bobsledders at the 2002 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 2006 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 2010 Winter Olympics Living people Olympic silver medalists for the United States in bobsleigh Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics