OWASSO, Okla. — Just years after playing baseball at Owasso High School, 21-year-old Grady Mercer is now on the fast track — in bobsled.
The recent graduate is already in his third season with Team USA Bobsled.
"I'm the youngest on the bobsled team," Mercer said. "I'm in the very front of the sled, I'm also kind of the head of the sled."
Up next, Mercer hopes to head to the Olympics.
"It'll probably be in December before I know if I have a shot or not," Mercer said. "I just have to win races on the development circuit and have my world ranking high enough to be able to qualify. It'll be very last-minute."
Mercer's journey to bobsled began unexpectedly when he was 14 years old.
"I was playing travel baseball, and one of these kids on the team, his dad was an ex-US bobsledder, and he saw me," Mercer said.
That former bobsledder was Dave Owens, a former Head Coach of the Women's Olympic Bobsled team.
"He was noticeably faster than everybody else on the team. Way faster, and he could hit a ball a mile," Owens said. "And then I found out in his spare time, he also raced cars."
Owens saw potential for Mercer's racing skills to transfer to the ice.
"Grady was having great success on the track as a racecar driver, and I said I'd really like to figure out if this is transferable to the ice," Owens said.
The coach was right about Mercer.
"It was love at first sight!" Mercer said. "Speed and adrenaline — that's what I live for — anything that's fast and dangerous, I'm going to be in."
Mercer now trains alongside some of the sport's biggest stars.
"The U.S. teams slide together. So, he's around Elana Meyers Taylor, who is on the women's team. She's a five-time Olympic medalist — and Kaillie Humphries on the women's side, she's a three-time gold medalist," Owens said.
Mercer spends about half the year traveling with Team USA Bobsled and half the year at home in Owasso. His training never stops; he's often working out at a local gym or running sprints on his old high school track.
The lessons he learned at Owasso High School continue to serve him well.
"They really taught me how to be mentally tough," Mercer said. "That's been a huge thing to me."
While Mercer hopes for a chance at the upcoming Olympics, his coaches are thinking long-term, too.
"They've told me multiple times I'm a long-term investment, so 2030 is going to be France, and they're thinking that could be a good first Olympics for you to get your feet wet, and then 2034 is going to be back in the States, so that would be your year to get a medal," Mercer said.
Owens believes in Mercer's potential.
"His future is bright for sure," Owens said. And with so much success in such a short time, Mercer's clearly on the right track.
"It's been a fun journey, and I've enjoyed it," Mercer said.
Mercer recently left the Oklahoma heat for training time on the ice in Lake Placid, New York. He tells 2 News his Olympic dreams are mostly self-funded.
If you'd like to help Grady Mercer in his quest for the Olympics, you can donate to his GoFundMe here.
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