On an unseasonably warm December day, Sydney Milani walked to her parents' driveway in Runnels and prepared for a sprint. Milani, wearing a long-sleeved Team USA shirt, looks down at her German shepherd, Benelli, who stands faithfully by her side.
“Are you ready, Nellie?” she asks him.
The 24-year-old gets the look she wanted from her four-legged friend and begins running down the gravel road in one of several sprints, kicking up small dirt and stones along the way. Mr. Benelli followed her, staying close to her until she reached the end of her long driveway and stopped.
“Her competitive spirit will keep her driving until it's over,” said Milani's father, Jeremy.
That's because Milani's work isn't done yet. One of the best runners in Iowa high school history, Milani is in the early stages of his bobsled career. But just like her running career, her latest endeavor has a lot of promise and promise.
“She definitely has all the tools that a past Olympian needs in their sport,” said Kurt Tomasevich, director of sports performance for Team USA Bobsled.
“At first I thought it was spam.”
Milani had everything Tomasevic was looking for in a bobsledder. Tomasevic, a former bobsledder himself, regularly researches the country's top track times and contacts college coaches to see if he has a future in his sport. One day he met Milani.
Milani was a superstar runner at Southeast Polk High School and became the first high school athlete in Iowa to win state titles in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 in the same year. After her high school graduation, she ran at Iowa State University and then Alabama State University. Milani possesses elite speed and strength, both of which were important factors for Tomasevic.
“It gives her the foundation and tools to really excel and do well,” Tomasevic said.
Dan Steele, Milani's track coach at Iowa State University, was a brakeman on the 2002 U.S. Olympic bobsled team that won a bronze medal in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ms. Tomasevic thought Milani was her best candidate and called her in late 2022, when she was due to graduate from university, but Milani did not answer the phone. Tomasevic left her a message explaining who he was and how he was interested in recruiting her to bobsledding.
She couldn't believe it.
“At first I thought it was spam,” Milani said. “Honestly, I was shocked and very surprised.”
Milani wasn't sure if it was something she wanted to pursue. Since she didn't know anything about bobsledding, she was already thinking of leaving the sport. Milani had several strength and conditioning internships that she was planning on entering into her industry.
But before making a decision, Milani wanted some advice. So she called her father and University of Alabama coaches Blaine Wiley and James O'Brien. All three of her friends encouraged her to try bobsledding.
“I said, 'Girl, you're young, you're healthy, you're hungry, you're capable, so why wait?' There are things in life that only a few get. We have an opportunity to do something special,'' Wiley recalled. “You're talking about the chance to become an Olympian.”
Milani decided to do so. Milani didn't know anything about bobsledding, so he had a lot to do and learn. She got to work right away. Tomasevic invited her to a rookie camp so she could learn the basics of her sport. The camp was also an opportunity for Tomasevic and other members of Team USA to evaluate Milani's speed and strength on the ice.
Milani had to learn where to put his hands on the sled and got used to wearing special shoes for running on the ice. Milani needed to understand biomechanics and the technique of pushing the sled correctly to get the right amount of energy needed. She also learned how to carry and care for a sled. There were no details.
She accepted everything.
“It was a lot different than I expected,” Milani said.
Tomasevic was impressed with Milani's leadership. Thanks to that, my transition to a new sport was almost perfect. Milani was able to take advantage of his unique skill set and apply it to pushing the sled. That gave her team a great start. After Milani showcased what she learned with her strong showings at the Push Championships and Performance Camp, she was selected to represent the United States for the 2023-24 IBSF World Cup competition season.
“She was good,” Tomasevic said. “She has the right personality and she has proven to be a team player. Even though we are a small team sport, it is very important for our athletes to understand the team concept. is important.”
Milani did. And that put her on the fast track to the Olympics.
What's next for Milani?A bright future for the sport and the possibility of an Olympic appearance
Milani has her sights set on the 2026 Winter Olympics. With more training, more experience and more time devoted to the sport, she hopes to be ready to jump. She has already made significant improvements and is in a good position to earn a roster spot with great performances this season. Milani helped win the North American Cup in December 2023 and March of this year.
“She has a fast learning curve,” Tomasevic said. “She improved really quickly. Her speed, she definitely has all the tools that all the past Olympians had.”
One of those Olympians is Des Moines native Lolo Jones, who was a two-time track and field Olympian (2008, 2012) before switching to bobsledding. She won the gold medal at her 2013 World Championships and competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Milani spends all his time and energy training for the sport, learning the ins and outs of becoming the best bobsledder. Milani has already established himself as the star brakeman on the two-man team. In his role, Milani plays a big role in the initial push, which is a key part of the execution. She will then be in charge of pulling the brakes. Milani is squatting in the sled, so she usually doesn't see much. So she learns as many courses as possible so she can feel the curves of the course and the pressure of the area to know how to guide the sled.
“I'm the engine of the sled,” Milani said. “I'll get it done.”
Milani lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia where she does most of her training. She plans to go to the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York once a month. Constant competition and training made it difficult for her to return home. But the sport is rarely far from her mind. Milani has a lot of work to do at Iowa State as well. She can run outside or lift weights at the gym she set up behind her parents' home, where her father runs a woodworking business.
Jeremy Milani sometimes takes time off from work to watch his daughter work hard. It is not surprising to him that she has already achieved success. In fact, he hopes to see her at the Olympics.
“That's true,” he said.
So is Sydney. She looks as if her destiny led her to a new sport. That's part of the reason why she still has the phone message Tomasevic originally left her. It reminds her of how far she has come. She sometimes needs it because she can't keep track of what she's doing.
“I can't believe it,” Milani said. “I can’t believe I ever had the opportunities I had and the people I love who pushed me to take them on.”
Tommy Burch, sports operations and features reporter for the Register, has worked at the paper since 2008. He was named Iowa Sportswriter of the Year in 2018, 2020 and 2023. Contact us at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
