Nathan "Nate" Weber (born February 1, 1987) 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. He competed in the four-man event at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

. Weber joined the U.S. Army in 2005, and served with the Special Forces in

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. In 2012, he started training as a bobsled pusher, in

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...

, motivated by the American bobsledder

Justin Olsen Justin Bradley Olsen (born April 16, 1987) is an American bobsledder who has competed since 2008. He won two medals at the 2009 FIBT World Championships in Lake Placid, New York, with a gold in the four-man and a bronze in the mixed team event ...

. He is currently in the

U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program The U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) is a military unit whose primary mission is to support nationally and internationally ranked soldiers in participating on the U.S. Olympic team. The program is headquartered at Fort Carson, Colorad ...

Early life

Weber was born in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and while in high school, he was part of the

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

team. He says "So most guys on the (Olympic) team come from a track or football background and I'm a little bit different in that regard. I grew up wrestling, that's what I was the best at."

Military career

Weber join the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 2005 right after high school. Weber enlisted as an

infantryman Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

and after basic training his first assignment was with The Old Guard where he spent the next 2 and a half years before being accepted to

selection Selection may refer to: Science * Selection (biology), also called natural selection, selection in evolution ** Sex selection, in genetics ** Mate selection, in mating ** Sexual selection in humans, in human sexuality ** Human mating strat ...

in 2007. After graduating from the Special Forces Qualification Course, Weber attended the

United States Army Airborne School The United States Army Airborne School—widely known as Jump School—conducts the basic paratrooper (military parachutist) training for the United States Armed Forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry Regiment ( ...

, learned a foreign language, and then went on to become a special forces medical sergeant (18D). He was assigned to the

10th Special Forces Group The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (10th SFG (A), or 10th Group) is an active duty United States Army Special Forces (SF) Group. 10th Group is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: Unconventional warfare (United States), ...

Fort Carson Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, El Paso, Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo, Fremont County, Colorado, Fremont, and Huerfano County, Colorado, Huerfano counties, Color ...

and was deployed to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

in 2014. Weber has also deployed to

, and

. Weber is currently in the

having transitioned from the special forces.

References

External links

From Green Beret to Olympic bobsledder, Nate Weber races for gold
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Nathan 1987 births Living people Bobsledders at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic bobsledders for the United States American male bobsledders Sportspeople from Denver United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program 21st-century American sportsmen