North Texas

Olympic Hopeful Seeks Edge in North Texas

Leslie Stratton is hoping to bring home a medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

She struggles to describe the sport she loves so much. 

"It's hard to explain. I always say it's kind of like a roller coaster. It's the closest thing to flying I've ever felt," Stratton said.

She's talking about skeleton, where athletes pilot a small sled face-first down an icy track at approximately 80 miles an hour.  "The adrenaline is just huge," she said.

Winning in skeleton is a matter of the smallest details. 

"You win or lose races by a hundredth of a second," said Stratton. "That's the difference between going to an Olympics and not."

Stratton, who hails from New Hampshire, says making Team USA for the upcoming Olympics in PyeongChang is her goal. 

"Going to Korea is everything," she said.

So in her quest for an edge, Stratton has traveled to Michael Johnson Performance in McKinney.  The world-class training facility is the brainchild of North Texas Olympic legend, Michael Johnson. 

"It's fantastic.  They see things that I can't see," Stratton said.

Stratton says even the North Texas heat makes her stronger. 

"It almost makes you feel like you get more out of a workout 'cuz you sweat more," she said. "I know that makes no sense.  But I'm getting used to it slowly."

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