Coach Morgan to try out for U.S. Bobsled Team
RISE Sprint Coach Morgan Tilong with travel to Lake Placid to participate in the U.S. Bobsled Training Camp. Morgan was chosen from a pool of hundreds of athletes from across the United States.
Morgan qualified for the training camp by placing 5th out of 16 at the "Bobsled Combine" held at Colorado College in June.
The Lake Placid Training Camp will determine which candidates will advance to the U.S. Bobsled Developmental Team from which National Team members will be selected.
“I started thinking about the U.S. Bobsled Team last year, but didn’t follow-up on my interest,” said Morgan, “but I finally decided to register for this summer’s combine. I spent May and June training specifically for this tryout.”
Morgan competed in three events – the 45-meter dash, the 16-pound ball throw, and the standing long-jump – for which points were awarded.
Meanwhile, Morgan has continued to train for his track specialty and ran a PR in the 400m at the Rocky Mountain State Games in July.
“I know I am not as fast as an Olympian at 400m, but I am just as fast the bobsled athletes,” continued Morgan. “I was originally inspired by Lola Jones to try out for the Bobsled team and this sport will definitely fulfill my dream of becoming a world-class athlete.”
If Morgan qualifies for the team, he will need to manage training and working a full-time job. By day, he tests electronic circuits for satellites at Ball Aerospace’s Electronic Production Center in Boulder as a Systems Test Engineer. To add more fuel to the fire, he recently began a Master’s Program in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Colorado.
Somehow, he has been able to serve as RISE Athletics’ Sprint Program Director under Head Coach Nell Rojas. This winter he won the special coaches’ 200m dash at the Simplot Games with a time of 23.68.
