Q&A by Ellen Ishkanian Name: Christopher Coleman Sport: Four-man Bobsled Games: Albertville, 1992 and Lillehammer, 1994

Monster: How did you get started in bobsledding?

Chris Coleman: I ran track and field in high school and college at SUNY Binghamton and I was a five-time Track and Field All-American. One afternoon,a reporter from my hometown newspaper came to the track to do a story about me and asked me what my hobbies were. Just to be a wise guy I said, "Olympic bobsledding." Well, it turns out that a member of the 1988 Olympic bobsled team, Randy Will, is from my hometown. His mother read the story and sent a copy to him. He called me and asked me if I'd be interested in trying the bobsled. I went up to Lake Placid, went through a battery of physical tests - sprinting, jumping, weight lifting. It was a natural extension of my abilities in track and field and I loved it.

Mc: So just like that you were on the Olympic bobsled team?

CC: I was still in college, but I knew what I wanted. One of my goals was to go to the Olympic Games. I stayed extremely focused on what I was doing and where I wanted to go. Looking back I don't know how I did it, but I was a resident assistant at college my senior year, I ran indoor track and I was bobsledding. I knew I wasn't quite Olympic caliber in track and field so I worked really hard and latched onto the opportunity I was given in bobsledding.

Mc: Why didn't you just quit college to concentrate on your sport?

CC: Bobsledding isn't like some of the other more glamorous Olympic sports, it's not a direct route to fame or fortune. I said to myself, "I'm going to need to get a job someday.'' I knew it was going to be important to get an MBA to make myself marketable.

Mc: You got your MBA after Albertville, but you were still competing as an elite athlete in your sport. How did you combine athletics with a career in your chosen profession?

CC: I really didn't. Bobsledding requires a lot of travel and it's a long season. May through September is training in Lake Placid, October is National Team trials and then the World Cup season is from November through February. So you can't really have a career. All my friends had jobs and were getting pay checks, and I was still in sweats.

Mc: Did you use your degree at all?

CC: One of the reasons I focused on marketing in graduate school is because I knew I'd have to market myself and my bobsled team. We were flat broke and we had to go out and present ourselves to our community and get sponsors and raise money. Once you're at a certain athletic level you get some money [from the U.S.O.C.], but we wanted to be financially self-reliant.

One piece of advice I have for other athletes is to make sure, while you're training, that you give as much to your community as you can without asking for money. When the time comes that you need to do fund raising to pay for training, travel and the basic bills, your turn will come and your community will give.

Mc: How hard was leaving sports for the "real world'' after Lillehammer?

CC: It was tough. I got back and said to myself, "Oh my God, I have to get a real job now.'' I wanted to work at the United States Olympic Committee but I had no experience. So I got a job at New York State Electric and Gas as a marketing analyst.

Mc: Did being an Olympian get you the job?

CC: I got the job because I had an MBA, but the Olympic Games got me in the door. People get the resume and say, "Gee, this is cool,'' but you still have to sell yourself once you're in the door.

Mc: Three years later you achieved another goal by getting a job at the U.S.O.C.

CC: I realized that if I wanted to do it, I had to do it on my own -- which is not always easy for athletes who are used to coaches and parents taking care of things. I flew out to Colorado Springs on my own dime and passed my resume around. This time I had the experience.

Mc: What exactly do you do?

CC: I work directly with Olympic sponsors. I'm very passionate about my work which has made the transition from bobsledding easier. You have to have passion and you have to love what you're doing. I love what I'm doing and I believe in the cause. I'm able to tell sponsors that their dollars really do touch athletes, because they touched me.

Mc: Do you miss competitive bobsledding?

CC: The thing I miss the most is the comraderie among my fellow teammates but I've transferred that to the business environment and try to be the best teammate I can be to my co-workers. The stronger our team is, the better service we deliver for our sponsors and athletes, many of whom I am still close friends with. I look forward to grow my career off the track.