Athletes are known to use unique strategies to keep their rhythm in the sport. Be it makeshift grounds for practice or fetching techniques to attain their sport’s resemblance. For 14-year-old Liam McKenna of the United States, competing at the Winter Youth Olympics, one such method of using 1500kg prop for training has been a worthy way to the path ahead.

The 4th edition of the Winter Youth Olympics announced its inauguration on the 19th of January. Among the 1800 athletes who announced their presence in Gangwon Province of South Korea, bobsledder, Liam McKenna was one name. The youngster who found his passion for the sport during the 2018 Winter Olympics, upon making it to Gangwon 2024, reveals the reason behind his training methods.

Liam McKenna unveils the idea behind using a car as a prop

After years of traveling hundreds of miles for practice, Liam McKenna finally made his way to the Winter Youth Olympics for the 2024 season. The youngster finished seventh in the Youth Olympics qualifier in Innsbruck, Austria to clinch his spot for today. Through the process of it all, Liam’s idea to push his parents’ 1500 kg SUV for training was a helpful tool. “During the summer I don’t have anywhere to push. I don’t have a push track around me,” says the Massachusetts native in a clip shared by Olympic Games on X. So during one of his training programs, he needed a sled and he did not have one. Instead, what he saw was his parents’ car.

The 14-year-old revealed that one can use a car as a heavier, much slower sled as compared to the usual one. “You can really practice getting down and pushing through and work on the strike in the form,” he says. Using his self-taught training method and a consistent routine, Liam McKenna became the youngest to compete in the men’s monobob competition at the Winter Youth Olympics.

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A path of resilience towards Winter Youth Olympics

It wasn’t always a clear road for Liam McKenna to find his interest in bobsleighing. The youngster started off with luge, then shifted to his current sport in a matter of 2 years. And when he did, Liam and his family realized they were hundreds of miles away from the ice track. However, that did not stop the family from trying.

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Reportedly, the family traveled a 650km round trip to Lake Placid every weekend from October through March. For the youngster who dreamt Winter Youth Olympics 2024, the hustle was all worth it. “Starting off in the Youth Olympics has been a dream of mine,” he tells Olympics.com. Today, conquering his first dream of the Winter Youth Olympics, ‘big Olympics,’ is next on the card for the youngster.

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