Bobsledder Steven Langton, a Melrose native, says he’s attempting a comeback
The lure of more Olympic medals has bobsledder Steven Langton rethinking his retirement.
The two-time medalist from the 2014 Sochi Olympics said Wednesday he is planning a comeback, the timing of his announcement coming exactly one year before the start of the Pyeongchang Olympics.
“Over the past few weeks I’ve realized that I still have one more Olympics left in me,” Langton said.
Langton teamed with pilot Steven Holcomb to win bronze medals in two- and four-man events at Sochi. He has not competed since, and announced his retirement in November 2015.
But the former world push champion is now changing his mind.
“The passion is there, the fire is still burning, and I’m coming back,” Langton said.
A native of Melrose, Massachusetts, Langton went to Northeastern where he competed in track and field. He saw bobsledding in the 2006 Olympics and tried the sport for the first time a year later.
Holcomb and Langton were one of the most dominant driver-pusher duos in bobsled, winning nearly two dozen World Cup medals together and two gold medals in world championships. In Sochi, they ended a 62-year American medal drought in the two-man event by finishing third.
Langton is the second high-profile member of the 2014 Olympic bobsled and skeleton team to end his retirement in recent weeks. Skeleton slider John Daly — a close friend of Langton’s — announced his return late last year, and will be part of the U.S. team at the world championships next weekend in Germany.
