Preston Parsons, far left, competes with his team in the four-man bobsled at the North American Cup in Park City, Utah, Dec. 4, 2025. (Courtesy: Michael Ritucci)
The Olympics were four months away, and Preston Parsons sped down a bobsled track for the first time in his life.
The black metal sled rocketed into the ice chute with a roar. Parsons braced just like he had practiced, pushing all of his 6-foot-5, 235-pound frame into the back of the sled as gravity yanked him downward. Unable to see most of the mountain track ahead of him, he hopped into the back of the sled and blindly clung for life as his pilot steered left and right. Every turn felt like an act of faith.
This wasn’t the path Parsons imagined as a kid sprinting down a New Hampshire football field. It wasn’t the one he committed to when he put on the U.S. Navy uniform, either. But here he was: a Princeton graduate, a Navy officer and a new member of America’s national bobsled, racing down an 80-mph track with dreams of the Olympics swirling around his head.
Before the ice, there was duty.
Parsons grew up patriotic. He can’t remember a time when the desire to serve wasn’t part of him.
“I just had that patriotic bug from a young age,” Parsons said. “I love my country, I’ve always been passionate about my country, and I always knew I wanted to serve and represent my country.”
As a teenager he was recruited by the U.S. Naval Academy in Spring of 2017 as a wide receiver, but a back issue picked up in his background check delayed his medical clearance. He was told the final decision wouldn’t come until January of his senior year of high school—too late to pursue other football opportunities. Devastated, he decommitted from the Midshipmen.
Princeton offered Parsons a spot, and he took it. But his football career there was marred by medical issues. A severe concussion in his final game in high school spiraled into months of debilitating symptoms. Then came a torn patellar tendon. Then COVID-19. Then another torn tendon. The sport he’d built his childhood identity around had begun to slip away.
After graduating, Parsons applied to the Navy again, aiming to complete Officer Candidate School. This time, he passed the medical exam and finally received his acceptance. He called it a “full circle” moment.
When the Ice Called
After finishing Officer Candidate School in April 2024, Parsons found himself stuck in a period of administrative limbo. He was bored and in need of a hobby.
“I always want to be achieving something and chasing something,” Parsons said. “I needed something to chew on—anything.”
It was Parsons’ older brother, David, who came up with a solution. He had stumbled upon the requirements for Olympic bobsledding and suddenly had an idea.
“I thought, ‘You know what?’” David Parsons said, “‘I think I know someone who could be pretty good at this.’”
USA Bobsled & Skeleton has a history of recruiting collegiate athletes from other sports like football and sprinting, since many of the skills overlap. Though newcomers are required to learn bobsled fundamentals, they largely come down to running fast and lifting heavy. As a former football player, Preston knew a few things about that.
David sent his younger brother a link to a Team USA digital combine, suggesting he film a 40-yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump and some explosive lifts. Parsons complied “just for fun.”
The next day, the Team USA head coach invited Parsons to in-person tryouts.
A Dream Stalled in an Inbox
Parsons entered the world of bobsled quickly after that, advancing through rounds of trials to reach the national Push Championships. The coaches loved his potential and offered him a full-time spot on Team USA.
“The coaches are telling me I have the potential to make the Olympics next year,” Parsons said. “It went from zero to 100 very fast.”
That’s when his Navy career and his new pursuit collided.
Parsons requested a one-year leave to join the program. His commanding officer supported him, but the authority to approve athletic leave for a niche sport like bobsled didn’t exist at that level. The request had to climb the chain of command.
Captain Drew Bisset, a mentor of Parsons’, stepped in.
“He needed the Secretary of the Navy’s approval for him to go ahead and be involved with the bobsled team,” Bisset said. “It can be very bureaucratic, but I helped him.”
Despite his mentor’s help, the process moved slowly. For months, Parsons lived in uncertainty, waiting for his request while it stalled in the inboxes of the many officers in the way of the Secretary.
A breakthrough came when a friend introduced him to Seth Cropsey, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense. Cropsey heard his story, understood the stakes and pushed the approval through within days.
In April 2025, Parsons was officially released to the Navy Reserve. With the Games taking place in February, he now had less than a year to chase the Olympic team.
The Grind Toward January
That fall, Parsons placed eighth nationally at Push Championships out of more than 30 athletes. Normally, that puts a bobsledder on the World Cup roster—the top U.S. circuit that travels through Europe.
But Parsons was still too new on the ice. His talent was still too raw and unrefined.
His coaches placed him on the North American Cup developmental team instead with clear stakes ahead of him: improve the more nuanced skill set needed, like jumping into the sled without losing speed, pushing with the team and making sure he hits the sled at the exact same time as his teammates. The goal was to eventually earn a spot on the World Cup team.
“He’s not afraid to get bruised up for the sport,” his bobsled teammate, Grady Mercer, said.
Selection for the Olympic team is in January. Parsons is using the remaining time to sharpen every piece of his craft at Lake Placid Olympic Training Center.
As he chases his sporting dream, his compass hasn’t shifted. The Navy waits for him on the other side—a commitment he never intended to abandon, only pause. When the Olympic dust settles, whether he makes the team or not, he plans to return to service.
But for now, Parsons is all in on the ice, pursuing a dream big enough to match the way he’s always lived life: giving everything for the chance to represent his country.
About the author(s)
Amarna Milne is an M.S. student at Columbia Journalism School, specializing in sports journalism.