BOBSLEIGH: Swiss sprinter Kora swaps track for ice in bid for Winter Olympics

Swiss Olympic sprinter Salome Kora is aiming to make the most of her explosive speed as she pursues a spot in the bobsleigh competition at next year’s Milano Cortina Winter Games.

Transitioning from athletics to bobsleigh is a familiar path, with Germany’s Alexandra Burghardt and American Lauryn Williams both having won medals in the two sports. Kora will compete as a brakewoman in the two-woman bob alongside pilot Inola Blatty, who is also a sprinter making the same switch.

The 31-year-old competed in the 100 meters at the 2016, 2021 and 2024 Summer Olympics, and reached the semifinals at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo earlier this year.

"I'm not that talented in sports, except that I can run fast," Kora told Olympics.com in an interview published Thursday. "That's why I think bobsleigh was the only option. You often see this sprint–bobsleigh combination, so it was the obvious choice. The reason why I'm doing this is of course the physical part."

Kora made her World Cup debut at the season opener in Cortina d’Ampezzo in November, finishing 11th with Blatty. The pair improved the following week with an eighth-place finish in Innsbruck, Austria.

"It's a huge opportunity to get a feel for a completely different sport at a high level," Kora said. "I'm starting now and can be part of the World Cup right away — I don't think that’s possible in any other sport — so I really wanted to seize this opportunity."

Kora added that she plans to continue competing as a sprinter after the Winter Games and is targeting the Swiss Indoor Athletics Championships immediately afterward.

"That's a week after the Olympic Games," she said. "The sprint level in Switzerland is so high that I can’t afford to take a break. I don't think I can do both long term — my body would probably not hold up. I’m still a track and field athlete." -Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Kate Mayberry/Reuters