Visualization has become one of the most important training tools for athletes in bobsleigh, luge and skeleton at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
With limited access to real tracks, competitors rely on mental rehearsal to prepare for the extreme speeds and rapid decisions their sports demand.
Team USA’s Kaillie Humphries highlights the challenge, noting that despite 23 years in the sport, she has “probably 25 hours worth of actual sliding down the bobsled track.” She explains that athletes can only complete a limited number of runs each day because “each run takes about 50 to 55 seconds and you can only do so many per year.”
Refusing to be constrained by the physical limits of training, Humphries, and other athletes in her position, turn to visualization to build the repetition that cannot be achieved on the ice. She says she regularly picks a track, closes her eyes and mentally feels her way through it to stay sharp and maintain the sensations in her hands and body.
Many sliders use similar techniques, studying every curve, angle and pressure point of a course long before they physically ride it. Visualization also allows athletes to simulate the sensations of gravity, vibrations and timing that define a real run.
Italian skeleton athlete Amedeo Ferlazzo even uses a bathtub as a stand‑in for his sled during off‑ice practice. Several top competitors, including Olympic champion Christopher Grotheer, share the method.
Danish skeleton athlete Rasmus Johansen notes that Grotheer often spends evenings lying on his sled and mentally rehearsing each movement so he can execute them better the next day.
With the Winter Olympics underway, athletes are relying on visualization more than ever, treating it as a skill that can separate clean runs from costly mistakes.
Great Job Julia Elbaba & the Team @ NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth for sharing this story.
