Charlie Volker

Charlie Volker (born May 23, 1997) is an American bobsledder and former football running back. He played college football at Princeton and became a bobsledder after not making the NFL. Volker competed in the two-man bobsleigh event and in the four-man event at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Early life and football career Volker was born on May 23, 1997, and grew up in Fair Haven, New Jersey. He attended Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. As a junior in 2013, Volker ran for 2,102 yards and scored 24 touchdowns, helping the team win the NJSIAA championship game. As a senior in 2014, he captained his team and was named all-state after placing second in the state with 2,108 rushing yards. He won the Dwight D. Eisenhower Award that year and was named Monmouth County Player of the Year. In his freshman year on the football team, he ran 26 times for 145 yards and made one reception for 20 yards. He was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for his performance against Colgate, in which he scored a 62-yard rushing touchdown.

Bobsleigh career "One of the trainers there [at the minicamp] had been a bobsledder, though, and he said to me, 'you know, you're the right type of athlete for the sport,'" Volker said. At the trainer's suggestion, Volker uploaded videos of his athletic highlights to the USA Bobsled and Skeleton's digital combine.

In 2022, Volker made the US World Cup team and finished with the bronze medal at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Winterberg, Germany, with a time of 1:49.54, four-hundredths of a second behind silver winner Great Britain. At the two-man event, Volker, paired up with Hunter Church, finished in 27th place with a time of 3:02.31. In the four-man event, Volker was part of the team that finished in 10th place with a time of 3:57.06.