Bill Schuffenhauer (born June 24, 1973) is an American

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobs ...

der who has competed since 2000. Competing in three

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

, he won the silver medal in the four-man event at

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Early years

Bill grew up in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and as a child, his mother was a prostitute and drug addict who was often beaten in front of him.Bill's natural father attempted to take young Bill out of Utah and give him a home, but Bill's mother and family reported young Bill as being "kidnapped" and the Salt Lake City Police threatened Bill's natural father with kidnapping charges if young Bill wasn't returned to his mother. Olympian's strength built from life on the streets (Speakermatch.com)
- accessed January 1, 2010 He had to steal, to eat from trash cans, and once was caught trying to break into a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

store to try to steal something to sell for food. The few friends he had were mostly in street gangs, and Bill drank and smoked

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

often. His mother was often evicted, and he lived in foster homes. Schuffenhauer's maternal grandmother, Sadie Muniz, took him in as he was about to enter junior high in

Roy, Utah Roy is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States, on the west side of Interstate 15 in Utah, Interstate 15. The 2020 United States Census, population in 2020 was 39,306; an increase of 6.6% from 36,884 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 ce ...

. "She reminded me to never give up and always push on," he said.

Athletic career

Because of his grandmother's influence, he began going to school and started to participate in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

at Roy High School, due to his great speed. He persevered to become an Olympian, and his coaches encouraged him greatly as well. He soon became a

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ� ...

. He went to

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991. As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...

and there he won the junior nationals in 1992. Additionally he played

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Olympics career

Schuffenhauer's Olympics dream as a track and field athlete came to an end in 2000. While training for

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, he suffered a bad ankle injury and he could barely walk. When his friend told him that the

U.S. Olympic team The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Olympic Games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The United ...

was practicing

bobsledding Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...

in Park City, he took the chance to go and observe. While there, the team members noticed his 6-foot, 200 pound frame and asked him he wanted to be a pusher. He accepted and trained with the team from then on. He was not originally slated to be a regular member, but was promoted when one of the U.S. four-man team members tested positive for steroids. That crew, piloted by Todd Hays, won a silver medal at the Salt Lake Games. At the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

Torino, Italy Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Bill's two-man team placed 14th, after which he retired. He had two children and he felt responsible for them. Bobsledders earn only a meager amount, but Bill made the tough decision to continue to aspire for qualification for

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. He fought through a neck injury (2 herniated disks) with the help of a

chiropractor Chiropractic () is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of physical disorder, mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the vertebral column, spine. It is based on sever ...

and a

team physician The team physician for a sports team is the physician who is in charge of coordinating the medical staff and medical services for a sports team. They are also subject to activities involving team building. The goal of a team physician is to improve ...

. In January 2010, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Bill and his 3 USA teammates placed sixth and qualified for

and it was officially announced on January 17, 2010, that Bill's team would represent the United States at

. They finished 13th in the four-man event. "The dream is happening right now. I'm here. That's all I wanted," he said. Then he added, "It would be nice to get a medal of any color."

Personal life

Schuffenhauer attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

in 2016. He was saved by his girlfriend. Speculation has arisen that Schuffenhauer's attempt was related to brain trauma suffered during his bobsledding career, similar to CTE that boxers and other sportsmen who suffer repeated minor concussions face.

Olympic career highlights

* 2002 Silver Medal in the four-man during the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah * 2001-02 results in the four-man -GOLD in Verizon Champ Series (Race #2) (1/02), 4th in Verizon National Trials (10/01) * 2002-2003 World Cup as brakeman for Todd Hays in the two-man -SILVER in Calgary (2/03), 8th in Winterberg (1/03), 5th in St. Moritz (1/03), 6th in Cortina (12/02), 4th in Igls (12/02) * 2002-2003 World Cup as brakeman for Todd Hays in the two-man -5th in Calgary (2/03), 6th in Winterberg (1/03), 6th in Cortina (12/02), GOLD in Lake Placid (11/02) * 2003

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

four-man event with a silver * 2004

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

four-man event with a bronze * 2004-2005 World Cup as push athlete for Todd Hays in the four-man -GOLD in Winterberg (11/04), GOLD in Altenberg (12/04), SILVER in Igls (12/04), 4th in Cortina (12/04), 5th in four-man bobsled at World Championships in Calgary (2/05) * 2004-2005 World Cup as brakeman for driver Todd Hays in the two-man -9th in Cortina (12/04) * 2005-2006 World Cup as push athlete for Steve Holcomb and Todd Hays in the four-man-9th in Calagary (11/05), 6th in Lake Placid (11/05), 4th in Igls (12/05), GOLD in Cortina (12/05), 11th in Konigssee (1/06) * 2005-2006 World Cups as brakeman for Steve Holcomb in the two-man-8th in Konigssee (01/06) * 2006 Olympian at Torino Games finishing sixth in the four-man and 14th in the two-man * 2008-2009 World Cup as push athlete in the four-man -13th in Winterberg (11/09), 19th in Altenberg (12/08), 9th in Igls (12/08), 9th in Konigssee (1/09), 5th in St. Moritz (1/09), 5th in Whistler (2/09)-9th at World Championships in Lake Placid (2/09) * 2009-2010 World Cup as push athlete for Mike Kohn in the four-man-14th in Lake Placid (11/09), 22nd in Konigssee (1/10), 6th in St. Moritz (1/10), 17th in Igls (1/10) * 2009-2010 World Cup as push athlete for Mike Kohn in the two-man -18th in Igls (1/10) * 2009 U.S. Bobsled Push Championship took 9th * 2010

finished 13th in the four-man event

References

External links

Bio written by Bill Schuffenhauer

Q Sports - Bill Schuffenhauer

Huffington Post Article

FIBT profile

Bill Schuffenhauer
at the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuffenhauer, Bill 1973 births American male bobsledders American male decathletes Bobsledders at the 2002 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 2006 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 2010 Winter Olympics Living people Olympic silver medalists for the United States in bobsleigh Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen