Tulsa Athlete Training To Make U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team

By Dan Bewley & Terry Hood, The News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- A Tulsa athlete has Olympic dreams. Katie Stoever is trying to make the Olympics in a sport we don't see much in Oklahoma. She's trying to become an Oklahoma bobsledder.

"I'm, honestly, still working on building my leg strength," she said. Seventy-five miles-an-hour down an ice track, who wouldn't love that."

She may be Oklahoma born and bred but Stoever is focused on an Olympic sport where snow and ice are center stage. She's trying to become a member of the U.S. Women's Bobsled team.

"Doesn't quite go hand in hand," she said.

Stoever leaves Monday for Lake Placid, New York. It's an odd sport for a Tulsa girl who was a gymnast growing up and a pole vaulter at Oral Roberts University.

"I'm really just flying by the seat of my pants and just taking it one step at a time and seeing what happens," she said.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Bobsled Federation says the fact that Stoever has made it to the final tryouts means she has a good chance of making a team and she'll most likely be competing internationally this winter.

If she improves and shows promise, she could eventually make the 2014 Olympic team.

"There's no doubt in my mind she's going to make it, no doubt in my mind," said Jonathan Conneely, Dynamic Sports Development.

For now, Stoever is pushing herself to stay strong, as she dreams to one day push a bobsled to Olympic glory.

"I'm a warm weather person more than cold but I'm taking it as an experience," she said.

Stoever is also looking for sponsors; she says that's just as important as the tryout itself.

Read Katie's Blog.