Springfield College alum Kelly Curtis returns to Olympics as Team USA’s top-ranked skeleton athlete

The Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics brought a familiar face to the hometown crowd: Kelly Curtis, the 2012 Springfield College graduate who is competing in her second Winter Games. Now a mother and an Air Force Staff Sgt., Curtis arrives in Italy as the highest-ranked American on the skeleton World Cup Tour, sitting 16th in the world.

From heptathlon standout to sliding sport contender

Curtis’ athletic journey began on the track. After starting her collegiate career at Tulane, she transferred to Springfield College where she focused on multi-event competition. She won the heptathlon at the 2011 Penn Relays, earned three NCAA Division III All-American honors and placed fourth in the heptathlon at the national championships. Those power and explosiveness traits that made her a heptathlete also planted the seeds for a sliding career.

Connections from her Springfield years helped turn curiosity into possibility. Former alumni who found success in sliding events and a strength coach with skeleton experience nudged her toward the ice. Curtis later experimented with bobsled and then skeleton, ultimately committing to the sliding disciplines during graduate school upstate.

Military service and World Class Athlete Program support

Since 2020, Curtis has been a member of the Air Force World Class Athlete Program, balancing military service with elite athletic training. The program’s structure provided the resources and flexibility needed to pursue skeleton full time while maintaining military responsibilities.

Stationed at Aviano Air Base in northeastern Italy since 2022, Curtis has been able to train close to the European circuits and build consistency on challenging tracks—an advantage she credits with helping her prepare for the Milano Cortina competition.

Second Olympics, first as a mom

This marks Curtis’ second Olympic appearance and her first while parenting. The added role has shifted priorities but also sharpened her focus. "I’ve been setting everything up for these games, " she said, describing how life in Italy and local training relationships have kept her goal in sight. Living near the tracks has allowed her to integrate family life with the intense demands of an Olympic season.

Her presence on the U. S. team carries broader significance: she is the first Springfield College alum to compete in multiple Winter Olympics, a milestone that underlines both her longevity and the college’s growing legacy in winter-sport pipelines.

What to expect on race day

In skeleton, runs are decided by a mix of start speed, sled handling and subtle steering through high-speed, high-G curves. Curtis’ heptathlon background—strength, sprinting power and coordination—translates well to the critical push start and body control needed for top runs.

Ranked 16th globally this season and the top American on the World Cup Tour, Curtis will be watched as a leading U. S. contender in a sport where hundredths of a second separate the podium from the rest of the field. Her familiarity with European tracks and year-round training base in Italy could provide valuable marginal gains when it matters most.

Legacy and next steps

Curtis’ Olympic return is a personal achievement and a noteworthy moment for her alma mater and the military-athlete community. Whether she comes away with a medal or a personal-best performance, her path from Springfield College heptathlete to top U. S. skeleton racer illustrates how multi-sport foundations and institutional support can open unexpected doors.

After Milano Cortina, Curtis’ immediate focus will be on the remainder of the World Cup Tour and the work required to build on this season’s ranking. For now, she carries the weight of expectation and the quieter pride of representing family, service and a college program that pointed the way.