LAKE PLACID, NY - A second Olympic bobsledder has joined the New York Army National Guard.
Nicholas Cunningham, a member of the U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team in 2010, will take time away from training in Lake Placid to become a carpentry and masonry specialist for the 1156th Engineer Company in Kingston, N.Y.
Cunningham will serve as a Citizen-Soldier and continue to pursue bobsledding through the Army World Class Athlete Program.
In January, Olympic Gold Medal bobsledder Justin Olsen enlisted in the New York Army National Guard under the same program. Olsen will report for basic training at the end of April.
"I just signed my papers with the New York Army National Guard, and I'm off to basic training in two weeks," Cunningham said in a Twitter message sent Monday.
"The New York Army National Guard has a long-standing tradition of enlisting individuals with great talent and abilities who have the desire to contribute to their state and nation. Nick's decision to join our team is just one more example of this," said Army Lt. Col. Steve Rowe, commander, New York Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Command.
Cunningham, 27, who took 12th place in the 2010 Winter Olympics in the two-man bobsled category, graduated from Monterey Peninsula College in 2005 and Boise State University in 2008 with a degree in communications.
When he is not bobsledding, Cunningham enjoys football, track, surfing, and rodeo, according to his biography on the USA Bobsled & Skeleton Federation website. His favorite sliding memory is accepting his first gold medal and standing on top of the podium with the national anthem being played.
Cunningham has made the official switch from the back of the sled to the driver's seat and has been named as an emerging elite driver for the U.S. program. Coaches expect Cunningham to be vying for a spot on the national team as a pilot next season, the website says.
Selection in the Army World Class Athlete program is open to members of the active Army, Army Reserve and National Guard who compete in an Olympic sport and have maintained good military standing.
Once a National Guard Soldier is selected, they are brought on active duty and performance is monitored for selection and attendance to required military schools to ensure program Soldiers remain competitive with their military counterparts.
Since the program's inception in 1997, 40 Soldier-athletes have participated in the summer and winter Olympic Games winning Gold, Silver and Bronze Olympic Medals.