Sliding head-first down a chute of ice might not seem like a peaceful pursuit, but don’t tell that to Austin McCrary.
“There’s one minute where you’re all alone on the ice. It’s perfectly quiet, and if you don’t enjoy being around a lot of people, it’s a nice minute to get away,” McCrary said.
The Olympic hopeful from Colleyville, who went to Covenant Christian Academy, has spent the last several years competing in skeleton for the U.S. all around the world.
He is currently sliding in the North American Cup series of races in the U.S. and Canada.
It was McCrary’s mother who urged him to give the unique winter sport a try.
“I joked around with it to be kind of honest about it. She thought I was serious and signed me up for a camp in the summer.”
Mother knew best, and despite his warm weather blood McCrary was hooked.
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“I do not like the cold. I despise the cold,” he said.
After a difficult start to the current season, McCrary is looking beyond the upcoming PyeongChang Olympics.
“It’s kind of a year of reflection and like, do I stick with it, keep going, or do I have the potential to get to the spot I want to get, or do I need to stop? And at the moment, I think I can go much further than I have, so it’s keep going,” said McCrary.
That could make McCrary a top contender for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
