They’re Team USA in more than one way.
Six U.S. Olympians are also members of the Army. They all compete in sliding sports — four bobsledders and two lugers. The Army is also sending three coaches to Sochi and one Paralympian in the sport of sled hockey.
They’re part of the Army’s World Class Athletes Program, which provides training and support.
Since the 1948 Olympics in London, the first held after World War II, 446 soldiers have represented the United States at the Summer and Winter Games. They have won 111 medals, according to an Army count.
Michael McFaul, the American ambassador to Russia, met with some of this year’s soldier-athletes and posted this photo Monday:
The four Sochi Olympic athletes in the photo are all bobsledders: From left, Sgt. Nicholas Cunningham, Sgt. Dallas Robinson and Capt. Christopher Fogt; and immediately to the right of McFaul in the picture, Sgt. Justin Olsen. At the far right is 1st Lt. Michael Kohn, a bobsled coach.
