Princeton's Kelly Curtis Races Into Her 2nd Winter Olympics

PRINCETON, NJ — Kelly Curtis, 37, of Princeton, is competing in skeleton at her second Winter Olympic Games this year. Ranked 16th in the world, the Air Force Staff Sergeant is the top U.S. athlete in the sport, where competitors race head-first and face-down on a small sled down a steep, icy track.

Curtis made history at Beijing 2022 as the first Black athlete to represent Team USA in skeleton, finishing 21st in her Olympic debut.

Athletics run deep in the Curtis family. Her father, John, was an All-American football player, and both of her brothers competed in college sports. Curtis herself excelled in the heptathlon at Springfield College in Massachusetts, winning the event at the prestigious 2011 Penn Relays.

Her path to skeleton began almost by chance. After graduating in 2012, a coach introduced her to bobsled, and she tried out for the sport the following year. But during training, she watched skeleton athletes practicing and felt an immediate pull toward the head-first sliding discipline. She made the switch and never looked back.

Curtis balances her athletic career with military service through the Air Force's World Class Athlete Program, which she joined in August 2020. Based at Aviano Air Base in Italy, she works in information management when she's not training or competing, according to the US Department of War.

Last month, Curtis claimed silver at an International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation World Cup event in St. Moritz-Celerina, Switzerland, rallying from ninth place to reach the podium. The result echoed her bronze-medal finish at the same venue in December 2022.

Curtis holds a master's degree from Saint Louis University and is married with one daughter.

The Winter Olympics officially open Friday with a ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium. The games run through Feb. 22.

NBC, which has exclusive U.S. broadcasting rights for live coverage, will delay coverage until prime time in the United States, where Eastern Time is six hours behind Milan and Cortina. It will stream live competition on Peacock.

Peacock doesn’t offer a free trial, but a couple of other streaming services do: DirecTV, whose plans start with a five-day free trial and whose channel lineup includes all of those providing service (NBC, USA Network, CNBC, NBCSN); and Hulu + Live TV, whose plans start with a three-day trial.

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