Lake Mary’s Josh Williamson finishes fourth in Milano Cortina two-man bobsled

Lake Mary native Josh Williamson, 29, slid to a fourth-place finish in the two-man bobsled at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics alongside pilot Frank Del Duca, and is slated to return to the track for Team USA’s four-man competition scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 21, and Sunday, Feb. 22. WESH reported Williamson serves as the brakeman for the two-man sled and that he is a 2021 graduate of Florida State University.

Race-day metrics underscored how narrowly the Seminole County athlete missed the podium. NBC reported the Del Duca-Williamson sled reached a top speed of 82.3 mph and sat 0.80 seconds behind the leaders after two of the event’s four runs, at one point roughly one-tenth of a second from the bronze as Germany held the top three spots. NBC also noted the two-man format is four runs over two days, the same structure used for nearly a century.

Williamson’s path from Central Florida to the ice is unusually direct. Tallahassee reported the former Mercer lacrosse player won NBC’s reality competition The Next Olympic Hopeful, chosen from more than 3,000 entrants about a decade ago, and posted on social media on Jan. 19, “I have officially been named to my 2nd US Olympic Team.” MySanfordHerald and other local outlets describe him as a Lake Mary native and Seminole High School graduate; NBC described him as raised in Sanford and noted his FSU attendance.

Local coverage emphasized the comeback arc that put Williamson on his second Olympic roster. WESH reported he overcame injuries including broken ribs and knee surgery to make the team, while MySanfordHerald additionally listed hip surgery among the medical setbacks Williamson endured over recent seasons. The resilience narrative matches Team USA selections that paired Williamson with Del Duca after multiple seasons of North American Cup and World Cup competition.

Team composition for the four-man sled mirrors local reporting. MySanfordHerald lists pilot Frankie del Duca, pushers Josh Williamson and Boone Niederhofer of San Antonio, Texas, and brakeman Brian Sosoo of Laurel, Maryland. NBC noted Del Duca was one of two U.S. flagbearers at the Games and described Del Duca’s Florida ties; MySanfordHerald described Del Duca as from Bethel, Maine, who was born in Florida. About his brakeman, Del Duca said, “He might be perfect.”

Williamson brings prior Olympic experience and recent World Championship results to Milano Cortina. Tallahassee documented that he was on the Beijing 2022 team that finished 10th in the 4-man Open, and that his most recent World Championships finishes in 2025 were 4th in 4-man Open and 9th in 2-man Men. MySanfordHerald noted that the Del Duca-Williamson pairing produced six top-6 finishes together plus a North American Cup gold.

Beyond results, Williamson has voiced concern about barriers to entry in the sport. In the New York Times he said, “I am 100 percent worried about this pushing people out of the sport. The rising costs are going to hold back growth of the sport. This sport has been a staple of the Olympics for so long, and it’s something people like to tune into even if it’s only once every four years. It’s a really cool part of the Games. But we have to address the shipping costs because for nations outside of Europe, it’s a big deal.” The Athletic has reported similar financial pressures and recounted that Del Duca sold an Audi TT and a mountain bike to help fund his Olympic pursuit.

With two more two-man runs completed on Monday and the four-man schedule set for Feb. 21-22, Williamson and the Team USA quartet will return to the track as Seminole County follows one of its own through a narrow Olympic medal chase.