Carsten Vissering was an absolute force during his time in the pool. Breaking national high school and age records as a teenager, he went on to swim for the University of Southern California in college. As a Trojan, Vissering won an NCAA title in 2018 as a part of the 200 medley relay (22.5 50 Breast split, fastest ever at the time) and 2 Pac-12 Titles. Once Vissering walked away from swimming, though, he wasn’t done with elite sport.
After aquatic retirement, Vissering still wanted to compete and ended up stumbling into bobsledding in 2022. He made the US national team and worked his way up the ranks until, earlier this month, he qualified for the 2026 US Olympic team. Vissering will compete next month in Milano Cortina donning the Red, White, and Blue.
SwimSwam sat down with the now winter athlete to discuss what training, competition, and the mental side of bobsledding is all about. Vissering details the nuances and hardships of the sport. He also tells his personal side of the story, sharing his drive to still compete, the will to learn and grow in a new sport, and the balance it takes to be a full-time athlete and work at a Big Four consulting firm.
- 0:00 Carsten Vissering Introduction
- 1:25 Pre-Olympic Training Camp in Austria
- 5:00 Training for Olympic Bobsled
- 12:00 Crashing
- 21:40 Surprise Olympic Qualification
- 25:54 Developing Sprinting Mechanics
- 34:40 Working Full Time at Ernst & Young
- 38:06 Bobsled World Cup Circuit
- 42:50 Racing on the Hardest Track in the World
- 46:45 2Man vs 4Man Bobsled
- 50:20 Olympic Prep
In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges and Gold Medal Mel Stewart, SwimSwam welcomes both the biggest names in swimming that you already know, and rising stars that you need to get to know, as we break down the past, present, and future of aquatic sports.
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Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com
Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners.
#1: participate in a sport that no else does, but is somehow an olympic sport
fun fact: a lot of world-class athletes from other sports end up in bobsledding
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_athletes_who_competed_in_both_the_Summer_and_Winter_Olympics
it requires strength and focus (a lot of it, otherwise you may end up badly)