The Winter Olympics in South Korea are underway, and by the time the next games take place, a former Jefferson City resident could be participating.
Ryan Restemayer, formerly a personal trainer in Jefferson City, moved to Salt Lake City two years ago to train for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
Although he was involved in preliminary competitions for the 2018 Olympics, he and his coaches have always had the 2022 winter games as their goal.
After years of dreaming about competing in the Olympics, Restemayer decided he didn't want to be someone who never tried.
In 2014, Restemayer, 26, went to Salt Lake City, where he trained with a team of rookies interested in the sport of skeleton, a fast winter sliding event in which riders reach speeds of up to 85 mph while coasting head first down a frozen track. Racers sprint then throw themselves down, chest first onto the ice. There is no steering mechanism in skeleton; sliders navigate by shifting their body weight through the turns.
"I saw it when I was watching the 2002 winter games when I was probably 10," Restemayer said. "They hadn't been in the Olympics for several decades. I thought I could do something like that, but I didn't know what went into getting ready."
Now Restemayer's training is much more intense, lasting six to eight hours a day; plus, he's holding down a job.
"There's not much time to socialize," he said. "There's no time to go out to the bars or anything like that. I know what I need to get done every day, and once I get it done I can lay my head down on my pillow.
"Some of the guys and gals I compete alongside have been doing so for a decade or more. We're all chasing the dream to one day be able to be in the Olympics."
Some athletes he has trained will compete in this year's Olympics, and Restemayer said he couldn't be happier for them.
"I've seen the struggle that goes into working to represent your country in the games," he said. "It's an amazing group of individuals."
Restemayer was featured recently in an NBC news video about the dedication and years of commitment needed to compete with the world's best athletes. The video can be viewed at facebook.com/nbcolympics/videos.