CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Frank Del Duca is proud of his bolognese sauce. He's always tinkering with his meatball recipe, searching for the elusive perfect ratio of everything. His first job was making pizza, he raves about his lasagna, and he knows the best Italian dishes have just a few ingredients.
Milan Cortina Olympics Opening Ceremony
TheMilan Cortina Gamesare 4,000 miles from Del Duca's house in Maine.
He feels right at home.
The pilot of the USA-1bobsled— chosen by his peers to be one of the two U.S. flag bearers whenthese games opened— is, as one might have guessed, an Italian American, with three of his four grandparents hailing from the country where the Olympics are taking place. And Monday, he'll compete on the soil of their homeland, in the field with brakeman Josh Williamson for the start of the two-man competition in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
"I like that the track is in Italy," Del Duca said. "I really do, for many reasons."
Del Duca — now a two-time Olympian in two- and four-man racing — is coming off a pair of fourth-place finishes in last year's world championships. And right now, fourth place tends to be the limit for most men's bobsleds; first, second and third seem to always go to Germany, which won 38 of a possible 42 medals on the World Cup circuit this season.
In Italy, Del Duca's heritage could serve as added inspiration. He doesn't skip any steps; he prepares as diligently for a World Cup race in November as he does for the Olympic Games. But he makes no secret that these races carry extra meaning.
"I don't know that he gets the credit he deserves," U.S. women's pilot Elana Meyers Taylor said.
How $40 almost changed everything
He was a state high school skiing champion in Maine, then walked onto the University of Maine's track team. Del Duca thought he would become a professional strength and conditioning coach, but the money coming in wasn't matching the money that had to go out. Student loans and other bills were choking him, so he moved in with a friend.
His room, such as it was, had a futon mattress on the floor and a dresser.
"That was it," Del Duca said.
He wanted to try out for USA Bobsled by going to one of its combines, which is fancy way of saying some physical testing. Athletes get measured by their power, speed and explosiveness, to see if they have what it takes to get a sled going down a hill.
The registration fee was $40. Del Duca didn't have an extra $40.
"I've come from a bit of a struggle," Del Duca said. His family didn't even know he was sleeping on a floor, much less that he needed the $40. Eventually, the money got scraped together. He went to the combine. He made the team.
It wasn't the first time the cost of bobsled would require some sacrifice.
"He may not be a five-time gold medalist," said Haley Del Duca, the slider's wife. "But he works like one."
His dream car had to go
One of the ways Del Deca — a bit of a speed freak — made money back then was to pick up cars or scooters, fix them up and then flip them for a little bit of profit.
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Eventually, he got his hands on a 2002 Audi TT, a six-speed with 225 horsepower, a car that could go from 0 to 60 mph in less than 7 seconds. His dream car. He loved that car. He didn't want to sell the car.
But he wanted to be a bobsled pilot. And runners, the steel tubes on the bottom of sleds, are expensive. The car was an asset. The runners were a need. He sold the car for $4,500, which was enough to put a deposit down on a set of runners.
"That tells you how cheap my dream car was," Del Duca said, "and how expensive runners can be."
The Army gave him opportunity
Del Duca is now a sergeant in the U.S. Army, part of its World Class Athlete Program. There are no fewer than nine current U.S. Olympic sliders and coaches who are, or were, part of WCAP — which provides athletes with some of the financial backing they need to compete.
The military salary helped Del Duca buy the right equipment, allowed him to eat better, to not stress as much about day-to-day life.
"They've been extremely supportive," Del Duca said. "It's an honor and I'm so grateful to serve my country and represent my country with the military, with the Army and then with Team USA."
Being the driver of USA-1 comes with responsibility. The late Steven Holcomb — an Olympic champion and generally considered the best American bobsledder ever — held that role when Del Duca was just breaking into the sport. Del Duca still has some of Holcomb's tools in his equipment box, partially as a tribute, partially because he wants to feel like Holcomb is always with him.
Holcomb was the leader, whether dealing with men's or women's sliders. Del Duca, quietly, assumes that same role now.
The Olympic team selection process wasn't easy on Meyers Taylor. She was a lock for the team, but the decision about who would be in her two-woman sled was contentious. The U.S. selection committee wound up going with rookie Jadin O'Brien, which led to some hurt feelings and appeal proceedings from other athletes. Meyers Taylor was in the center of it all. And a few days ago, she basically broke down.
"I consider myself a strong person. But I have my moments of weakness, too," Meyers Taylor said. "So, one day, we were in sports medicine. I am trying to just relax and trying to put everything behind me. But I completely lost it, like an ugly cry, breaking down. And Frankie just gets up slowly. Just turns to me and just gives me a hug. And he will not let go until I let go."
Her makeup was smearing his shirt. He didn't care.
"Everything's going to be OK," he kept telling her. Meyers Taylor, finally, felt better.
"That's the kind of person he is," she said.
It is fitting, in a way, that Del Duca and Meyers Taylor still have those moments together. He took his first bobsled ride way back when with her as a pilot. Little did either of them know what they were starting.
Much like with cooking, there was trial and error. But now, he's got it just about figured out.
"In the beginning, I didn't see Olympic medals or the Olympics. I saw a lot of ups and downs," Del Duca said. "When I started driving, I felt comfortable. It set my soul on fire and that's when I felt that I was doing what I was really supposed to do."
AP Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
