For NBC’s John Morgan, returning to Cortina for the 2026 Winter Olympics for the seventh year is more than just another broadcast assignment. The bobsled venue carries a weight of familiarity. It’s where his late brother, Jim Morgan, a celebrated U.S. driver, was involved in a crash 45 years ago. This time, calling to action means confronting memories that run as deep as the ice on the track for John.

Growing up in Lake Placid, New York, John came from a big, bustling crew of 12 siblings who spent just as much time on the ice as anywhere else. While John carved out a name for himself behind the microphone as one of the sport’s most familiar voices, his older brother Jim took charge behind the wheel as one of America’s top drivers.

“He was also a naturally gifted athlete. Jim was able to pick things up quickly and succeed. He hardly ever trained, while my brothers and I had to work at it. He was cocky, handsome. He drove a Corvette. He was the pied piper of the family,” he wrote in his tribute piece on the NBC Olympics website.

Nicknamed “Nitro” for his fearlessness, Jim Morgan was a Vietnam veteran and natural leader who drove his brothers to chase the Olympic dream. His talent stood out: he won the 1975 North American 2-man title, finished second in the 4-man, and earned the decade’s best American result in Europe with seventh at the World Championships in Cervinia.

Jim led the charge at the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics, placing 14th in the 2-man and 15th in the 4-man bobsled. When the Games returned to Lake Placid in 1980, he jumped back in for the 1979-80 season and convinced brothers John, Sean, and Bryan to join him. That winter, six Morgans chased the dream, four in bobsled and sister Bridget and brother Terry in luge.

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It didn’t go as planned. The team crashed on January 5, 1980, a terrifying moment that could’ve ended it all. But for Jim, even with the bruises and broken sled, he told everyone to brush off the ice and get back up because quitting wasn’t in his vocabulary.

Bryan, the youngest, had had enough. “I’m done,” he said. Jim Morgan refused to back down. As John recalled him saying, “We’ve got to get this sled cleaned up…There is another race in two days, and we have to compete.”

As the U.S. No. 1 4-man driver, Jim Morgan’s career ended tragically at the 1981 World Championships in Cortina. 45 years later, when John returned, his friend Diego Menardi held a mass in Jim’s memory: on February 8, the same day and in the same church where they once mourned him. About 30 people attended, some slipping away from Olympic duties to honor him.

“In recalling those memories and taking in the sights and sounds of the room (John Denver’s ‘West Virginia’ was blaring at one point), it gave me a chance to reflect. It was the perfect environment with beautiful people in one of the most magical places I know,” he concluded.

Grief never truly fades. What Jim gave to the world of bobsledding was extraordinary and enduring. Even in tragedy, his legacy echoed far beyond the track

Looking back at  Jim “Nitro” Morgan’s Cortina Tragedy

It was February 8, 1981, when tragedy struck the icy track at the World Four-Man Bobsled Championships. America’s top driver lost his life after his sled skidded through the final curve at a scorching 93 mph. The No. 1 U.S. team bob flipped onto its right side and smashed into a wooden guardrail, ending what had been a blistering run in heartbreaking disaster.

Jim Morgan, just 31 at the time, suffered severe head and neck injuries in the crash. Medical teams sprinted to his aid, including a Soviet team doctor who joined the rescue. But despite the urgent care, Morgan passed before reaching a nearby hospital. His teammates, Jess Jost of Burke, New York, along with Paul White and Randy Blieski of Towson, Maryland, escaped with minor injuries.

Race officials confirmed that the sled was still thundering at nearly 93 mph when it rolled instead of leveling out before the finish. Italian authorities quickly seized the U.S. sled for inspection, determined to understand what had gone wrong. The shocking accident sent a jolt through the event, yet the championships carried on as scheduled.

East Germany’s top squad ultimately claimed victory, finishing two days of competition in four minutes, 50.90 seconds. But the mood had changed entirely. There was no applause at the medal ceremony, only quiet respect as the East Germans accepted gold. That night, Cortina’s church filled with Italian bobsled families who lit candles and comforted Morgan’s brother John, finding solace together in shared grief.

Years later, Jim Morgan’s legacy continued to shine. He was inducted into the USA Bobsled/Skeleton Hall of Fame in the Class of 2020, honored in a 2022 ceremony for achievements like his seventh-place finish at the 1975 World Championships and his leadership at the 1976 Olympics. In 2025, he was enshrined in the U.S. National Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame, celebrated through a touching tribute video that captured his fearless spirit.

While the exact cause of his crash was undetermined, safety measures at this year’s Olympics are being taken to avoid any mishaps. Organizers have been cautious after snowboarder Mark McMorris’ frightening slopestyle crash on a hidden patch of snow, moved up qualifications for both men and women to Sunday, February 15.

“In anticipation of some adverse weather forecasted for the start of next week and in the aim of maintaining a safe and fair competition,” the FIS Park & Pipe World Cup’s official Instagram reported.

As the two-man bobsled final unfolds on Tuesday, John Morgan will likely be there, keeping Jim’s fearless presence alive in spirit.