Personal information | |
---|---|
Nickname | Superwoman |
Nationality | American |
Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | June 29, 1989
Education | Kilgore College, LSU Shreveport |
Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) |
Weight | 161 lb (73 kg) |
Sport | |
Country | USA |
Sport | Olympic Weightlifting, Bobsleigh |
Weight class | 69 kg Category |
Event(s) | Monobob, Two-woman |
Turned pro | 2012 |
Medal record |
Sylvia Hoffman (born June 29, 1989, in Philadelphia [1] ) is an American bobsledder who was first discovered and recruited for the national bobsled team on The Next Olympic Hopeful. [2] She is originally from Arlington, TX [3] and attended Louisiana State University Shreveport. [2] Before bobsledding she was a college basketball player and participated in weightlifting. [2]
During her childhood, Hoffman played many sports, including basketball. [3] She eventually played basketball at the collegiate level for Louisiana State University Shreveport. [2] In 2015, she was invited to attend the training camp for the USA bobsledding team. [4] However, she turned down the offer due to not having enough finances so soon after graduating from college. [4]
Hoffman began training in weightlifting [2] after moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado. [3] During this time, she participated in international competitions for the USA weightlifting team. [3]
In 2018, Hoffman competed on the second season of The Next Olympic Hopeful [3] in order to have financial support to train for the Olympics. [4] Hoffman did not win the program but was still noticed by the US Bobsled team [3] and invited to attend the rookie training camp. [2]
With little experience in bobsled, [3] Hoffman won both the Rookie Push Championship [3] and the National Push Championship [2] in 2018. She was officially given a spot on the US bobsled team after participating in the national team trials. [3] With the team, she competed in the 2018-2019 World Cup season. [3] At the Innsbruck, Austria competition, she received bronze with partner Elana Meyers Taylor. [3]
In 2020, Hoffman, with partner Kaillie Humphries, won the World Cup at Königssee, Germany. [5]
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.
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