Steve Holcomb, is a very popular athlete for his talents as a bobsledder and his numerous medals. He became essential in helping his country win the gold medal after 62 years of anticipation. With such an imprint on time, the legendary athlete still had skeletons in his wardrobe that he had to fight against. His problems began with vision loss and depression, and although his eyes returned to normal, the American bobsledder still had to battle the depression that was causing him the worst.
Steve Holcomb – Bio
Steve Holcomb was a sports icon in America, born April 14, 1980 in Park City, Utah. He had a brave mother who introduced him to skiing from the age of 2 and took him skiing so often that by age six he had started skiing in public places as well as ski resorts. By this point, he had developed a passion for sports, and in addition to skiing, he played other sports such as basketball, baseball, football, etc.
At 8 years old, Steve Holcomb played in the home league bobsled team and although he was not outstanding, he was able to register a few points which earned him a place to compete in the national push championship. Holcomb gave an impressive performance during his training sessions with the national team, but he was eventually dropped, not because he wasn’t gifted, but because of his tender age and miniature stature. .
It is also interesting to know that despite his interest and busy schedule in sports, Steve Holcomb managed to complete his high school education at the Winter Sports School in Park City, Utah and then the University of Utah, after which he joined the Utah Army National Guard in March 1999. an unexpected drift from his athletic line.
His career
Holcomb was drafted to serve as a combat engineer, but of course his love for the sport caught up with him again as he joined their team of athletes and participated in the US Army’s World Class Athlete Program. His service in the army ended in July 2006, seven years of active service and he was granted an honorable discharge. Moreso, he received many awards when he was in the army, including good conduct awards, medals for the army, among others.
So, back to his life as a sportsman, Steve Holcomb is known for competing in the world cup and his team of two- and four-man bobsled won gold, silver and bronze medals. Their four-man team also made history by becoming the first four-man bobsledding group to win the world championship since 1959.
In 2004, he took 2nd and 3rd positions in the American drivers’ rankings, followed by several other medals, including the two-man world championship title which he won as the first American to win this title. Moreso, Steve Holcomb also played a crucial role in helping his country win a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics, a first for the United States after 62 years of competition.
Health challenges: what happened to him?
Amid the joys of his victory, Holcomba discovered that he was developing an eye defect; he was later diagnosed with Keratoconus. It didn’t take long before he was overwhelmed with eye disease and then depression.
Steve Holcomb, however, kept the disease to himself. He feared that his dream of becoming a career champion would be cut short once his team members or his coach learned of his visual impairment. As his blindness continued to approach, he learned to coordinate running with the use of other senses and, well, it worked like magic, at least for a time, but soon he was gone. no choice but to let the cat out of its bag.
He confided in his trainer who paired him up with expert doctors in the area and in 2007 minor surgery, a C3-R was performed on his eyes. The following year, doctors fixed a pair of corrective lenses. Thanks to the insertions, Steve Holcomb was able to participate in the 2007/2008 Olympic tournament. It should be noted that the C3-R surgical procedure was renamed “Holcomb C3-R” in honor of him and that, for the first time in its history, an athlete was used to designate a medical procedure.
Cause of death
Well, the eye disease was cured, the talented superathlete was back on his feet, and it looked like everything was back to normal, but no! the depression is not gone. It became a heavy burden for him. Steve Holcomb won several more medals after the eye drama, but for no known reason the depression persisted.
Sadly, on May 6, 2017, Steve Holcomb was found dead in bed and allegedly found to have high alcohol and a sleeping pill called Lunesta in his system. They also found a high level of fluids in his lungs, a determining factor.
His family wanted the cause of his death to be kept secret, therefore, no detailed information was disclosed in this regard. However, according to some sources, Holcomb left behind details of the weight of depression he had to fight for several years and of his previous attempts to take his own life.