U.S. Olympic champion bobsledder Steven Holcomb dies

Holcomb was found dead in his room at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York.

KOENIGSSEE, GERMANY - JANUARY 29: Pilot Steven Holcomb of USA celebrates after the second run of the 4-man Bobsleigh BMW IBSF World Cup at Deutsche Post Eisarena Koenigssee on January 29, 2017 in Koenigssee, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images For IBSF)

Olympic gold medal winning bobsledder Steven Holcomb was found dead in his room at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York, the U.S. Olympic Committee said.

“The entire Olympic family is shocked and saddened by the incredibly tragic loss today of Steven Holcomb,” USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun said in a statement on Saturday. “Steve was a tremendous athlete and even better person, and his perseverance and achievements were an inspiration to us all. Our thoughts and prayers are with Steve’s family and the entire bobsledding community.”

The USOC said no further details on the circumstances of Holcomb’s death were immediately available. Holcomb, who was 37, competed for Team USA in three Olympic Winter Games, making history at Vancouver 2010 when he piloted the “Night Train” US four-man bobsled team to the gold medal.

It marked the first U.S. gold in the event since 1948. At Sochi in 2014, he went on to win bronze medals in both two-man and four-man bobsled. Holcomb also counted five golds among his 10 world championship medals. He was a six-time overall World Cup champion and 60-time world cup medallist.

“It would be easy to focus on the loss in terms of his Olympic medals and enormous athletic contributions to the organisation, but U.S.A. Bobsled & Skeleton is a family and right now we are trying to come to grips with the loss of our team-mate, our brother and our friend,” said U.S.A. Bobsled & Skeleton chief executive Darrin Steele.