Going for the Gold: Eric Bernotas

The "Going for the Gold" series kicked off our One-Year-Countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. We will feature a different 2010 U.S. Olympic or Paralympic hopeful each week with a vodcast on the first and second Friday of every month.

Skeleton slider Eric Bernotas only first got involved in the sport at age 30. Now at 37, he is preparing for his second Olympic appearance next year in Vancouver.

The Avondale, Pa., native finished sixth at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. In the 2006-2007 season, he had three podium finishes in the World Cup circuit and won silver in St. Moritz, Switzerland, at the World Championships.

The 5-foot-11-inch, 175-pound skeleton athlete upped his medal finishes from three to four during 2007-2008 World Cup series and came in 12th at the World Championships in Altenberg, Germany. At the 2008-2009 World Cup competitions, Bernotas had one medal-winning race and placed seventh at the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Bernotas always felt the Olympic spirit inside him, but he didn't find his Olympic sport until December 2001 while on a road trip. He took a wrong turn and came upon the bobsled track in Lake Placid. The following month he took his first skeleton run and also made the U.S. Olympic Team--he was training by Jan. 22, 2002.

While attending college at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va., Bernotas had taken another wrong turn. He had depression and Tourette syndrome--which was then undiagnosed--and he turned to alcohol and marijuana to cope. He struggled in social situations and lacked motivation to continue his education, and his use of alcohol eventually led to alcoholism.

After Bernotas graduated from WVU in 1994, he began to train like an Olympic athlete--running, biking up hills--while working as a masonry contractor. He soon realized that his training was the best remedy for him to counteract his depression and alcoholism. His workouts helped take his mind off things, and he held on to his hopes of someday being an Olympic athlete.

That same year Bernotas was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. It wasn't until then that he began to understand his habits and facial tics. When he finally found skeleton--after training himself for the Olympic level for seven years--he realized he didn't notice his involuntary movements while sliding down the track. Tics are normal during his warm-up, but if he still experiences them before a run, he knows he's not mentally prepared for it.

During his second season on America's Olympic Team--barely three years after his first skeleton run--Bernotas finished first at the National Championships and set a record at the Lake Placid track. He had two podium finishes in the 2004-2005 World Cup championships and came in sixth overall. Despite only having one medal-winning run during the 2005-2006 World Cup, he placed third in the overall rankings.

Even though Bernotas hasn't been sliding for the majority of his life, he has overcome extraordinary odds that many Olympic athletes never have encountered. His spirit of perseverance can only provide him with an advantage on his trek to Vancouver in 2010.

CLICK HERE for Eric Bernotas' bio.

CLICK HERE to view Eric Bernotas' photo gallery.