Most people’s ambition is to ascend in their profession, but for Malvern native and 2010 Olympic skeleton competitor Eric Bernotas, the ideal route is downhill. Bernotas, born right here in West Chester, Pa., competes in an event that takes a lot of nerve. The skeleton is perhaps the most dangerous of Olympic events. Competitors fly head first down an icy track at speeds topping 80 m.p.h. on a tiny sled with nothing but a helmet for protection.
Where a competitor gains the courage to take on such a challenge is relative. For Bernotas, it’s just another in a lineage of challenges that he’s taken head on for years.
Growing up, Bernotas, 38, developed a facial tick as a result of the nervous disorder known as Tourette’s syndrome. In school at West Virginia University, the embarrassment engendered by the disorder lead to depression, which curbed Bernotas’ ability to adjust to college life. He subsequently turned to drugs and alcohol for solace.
In his senior year, he sought help and found reconciliation in a sport. Bernotas always had a knack for competition, and focused all of his attention onto maintaining his athleticism through constant workouts. He continued to stay in shape through his twenties while working as a stone mason and general contractor. However, he did not find his match in sport until eight years ago, at the ripe age of 30 when fate stepped in.
Bernotas and his girlfriend were heading up to visit friends in Vermont when they made a wrong turn and ended up in Lake Placid, N.Y., where he saw the U.S. skeleton team practicing. Convinced that this was an omen, Bernotas later began rigorously training with the team.
His long and winding journey to this year’s Olympics in Vancouver is a source of inspiration for many, and Bernotas recognizes the rarity of his trip.
“I think my journey alone and what I’ve gone through just to make it to the Olympics is something special, and I’m pleased with the way things have developed and I hope people see me and are inspired to follow their own dreams,” Bernotas said.
Today Bernotas is the owner of 11 World Cup medals and he finished sixth in the 2006 winter games in Torino, the highest place of any American competitor. He also is a four time U.S. national champion and track record holder at both Lake Placid and Nagano, Japan.
Perhaps a better indicator of Bernotas’ personality is a race he once took downhill in a bobsled. At a Europa Cup event in Igls, Austria in 2004, he gave a last-minute assist to U.S. bobsled pilot Mike Kohn. Kohn’s team was 60 pounds over the maximum allowable weight due to modifications to their sled.
So the night before the race, Kohn recruited Bernotas, who weighed less than his brakemen, to help him qualify. The makeshift crew finished 20th overall, but it was enough to qualify Kohn for the World Cup circuit. If it weren’t for Bernotas’ help, Kohn would have had to wait an entire year to try to make the World Cup circuit again.
Last month in Switzerland Bernotas became the first American in nearly two years to capture gold in a World Cup skeleton race. His 2010 Olympic run fell short, though, as he finished in 14th place. Nevertheless, Bernotas is indeed an example of perseverance and determination, the very characteristics that the Olympics are all about.
Joshua Vaughan is a West Chester University student. He can be reached at JV662689@wcupa.edu