Joshua WILLIAMSON

REALITY SHOW
Was part of the reality television show “Scouting Camp: Next Olympic Hopeful” in 2017. Ninety-one finalists travelled to Colorado Springs to the US Olympic Training Centre where they underwent a week of combine tests, including sprints and the shot toss. Out of a possible 800 points, he posted a score of 750, and was named one of eight winners (one man and one woman in four sports), who each received funding for their first season in their new sport. "I didn't know anything about bobsleigh. I just knew they lifted a lot of weight. And I thought that was cool." (24life.com; gofundme.com, 26 Oct 2017; apnews.com, 26 Aug 2017; wesh.com, 10 Dec 2021; fsu.edu, 16 Jan 2018)

HIS BIGGEST NEWBIE HURDLE
“I didn’t even have a passport. You want me to go where? And how long is that flight? I had never been on a plane for more than a couple hours, and then I was taking a flight to Japan.” (teamusa.org, 30 Dec 2021)

BEING A BRAKEMAN
Likes being in the less glamourous positions in sport. "In my sports, I’ve noticed that I’ve picked a lot of positions and a lot of things that might not get the press or the love, but are something that I feel are kind of important, and I love playing those roles. I always played defence in lacrosse, even though I was pushed to play offence. I played defence in football, and even though maybe I didn’t score a game-winning touchdown, I made the plays we couldn’t win without. And I kind of love that about being a brakeman. Some brakemen get a little upset that we may not be getting that love but I kind of like it, frankly..." (slidingonice.com, 5 Jul 2021)

RELATIONSHIP
Is currently dating Canadian bobsledder Kim Bujnowski. (Instagram)

COVID-19
Tested positive for COVID-19 on 23 January 2022 and did not fly with the rest of Team USA on a charter flight to Beijing later that week. He remains hopeful that he will be able to test negative and re-join his team prior to the start of the men's bobsleigh competition on 14 February. "This has not been an easy pill to swallow. I have felt pretty helpless throughout this process, but I've also found myself laughing a bit at the situation I'm in. Isn't it ironic that after four years of hard work, all there is to do is sit, rest, recover and have faith? Things I struggle to do the most." Williamson eventually tested negative and arrived in Beijing on 9 February. (espn.com, 27 Jan 2022; ctpost.com, 10 Feb 2022)

STAYING FRESH
"With bobsledding being such a short burst, high-intensity, sprint-like sport, it requires heavy weightlifting movements - so it’s really important my nervous system stays healthy when I’m burning that candle. If I’m stressed in my life, whether it’s with a relationship or family or anything like that, I’m burning the candle at both ends - so sometimes the best thing to do is just rest to feel fresh when it’s time to really get after it, whether it’s on a race day or on those hard training days." (mensjournal.com, 2022)

© Data by Sports Data Warehouse

Two World Championships appearances (2019, 2020), with top finish of 11th in four-man (2019).

Competed at the 2018 U23 Junior World Championships and 2018 Junior World Championships.

Two World Cup podium finishes, both thirds, the first in 2020 (Innsbruck) and his second on 9 January 2022 (Winterberg).