Bobsled athletes Elliot Markuson and Emily Renna prepare for Milan-Cortina Olympics at UNC Charlotte’s US Performance Center
CHARLOTTE, N.C. β Six months before the 2026 Winter Olympics begin in Italy, two of Team USA’s brightest bobsled hopefuls are honing their skills not on icy mountain tracks, but in the heart of the Queen City.
Elliot Markuson and Emily Renna, both Olympic hopefuls and romantic partners, spend their days training at the U.S. Performance Center at UNC Charlotte, proving that world-class winter sports preparation can flourish in unexpected places.
“It’s fun to β we support each other in a way that I don’t know. It’s really unique,” said Markuson, whose journey from college football to Olympic bobsled represents the kind of athletic crossover increasingly common in the sport.
While Charlotte may lack the ice tracks of traditional bobsled training facilities, the U.S. Performance Center offers state-of-the-art strength training and conditioning programs essential for Olympic-level competition. The facility has become a crucial hub for American bobsled and skeleton athletes preparing for international competition.
“It gets to a place where you’re just always pushing for that next best thing, but also keeping it light and fun, which I think is pretty invaluable in a training environment,” Connor Powers, a trainer at the US Performance Center who works with both athletes, said.
The couple’s relationship adds a unique dynamic to their training regimen, requiring them to balance professional athletics with personal partnership.
“It’s very easy to, for me, at least, to turn on, like, let’s be a professional teammate hat versus, let’s, you know, you know, relationship hat kind of thing. So there’s a good balance of that that we have,” Renna explained.
Both athletes represent the diverse pathways leading to Olympic bobsled competition. Their training at the Charlotte facility demonstrates how modern Olympic preparation has evolved beyond traditional geographic constraints, utilizing cutting-edge facilities regardless of climate.
The physical and mental demands of bobsled β a sport where athletes reach speeds approaching 90 mph on ice tracks β require year-round conditioning that can be effectively conducted in warm-weather locations like Charlotte.
“It’s already a hard sport, there’s a lot of adversity in it with the weather and the conditions and the physicality, but just having each other, it definitely helps while you’re kind of battling all this stuff,” Markuson said.
The 2026 Winter Olympics will take place in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, beginning Feb. 6. Team USA bobsled rosters will be finalized in the coming months as athletes compete for limited spots across multiple events.
The U.S. Performance Center at UNC Charlotte has emerged as a significant training hub for American winter sports athletes, housing facilities that support both individual training and team preparation camps. The center’s role in Olympic preparation highlights Charlotte’s growing influence in national and international athletics.
For Markuson and Renna, their Charlotte-based training represents more than geographic convenience β it embodies their shared commitment to Olympic excellence while maintaining the personal relationship that supports their athletic goals.
The couple’s story reflects broader trends in modern Olympic training, where athletes increasingly seek comprehensive support systems that address both performance and personal well-being in their pursuit of international competition.
As the Milan-Cortina Olympics approach, their daily training sessions continue building toward the moment when their Southern-forged preparation meets Olympic ice.
Contact Myles Harris at mharris5@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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