(July 26, 2021) – For our eighth athlete profile of 2021 (and the 30th(!) in the “Getting to Know…” series) we catch up with three time Olympian John Daly. After a brief hiatus, John returned to action in North American Cup in the 2020/2021 season and swept the five events of the shortened season. John’s top finish in individual World Championships is fifth, though he did take gold in the team competition in 2013 alongside teammates Noelle Pikus-Pace, Elana Meyers Taylor, Lolo Jones, Steven Holcomb, and Curt Tomasevicz. In a near 20 year career across every tour possible, Daly has amassed 19 gold medals and 33 medals overall.
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Slider: John Daly
Team: USA Skeleton
Home track: Lake Placid
Hometown: Smithtown, NY / Brooklyn, NY
You’ve slid on all of them, so what is your favorite track and why?
This is going to be pretty stereotypical: St. Moritz. It’s aesthetically the most pleasing, it’s great for people to visit. The feel of it is awesome. I think more people talk about the feel and how you feel like the sprot started and there’s some of those vibes, but I honestly just like it because it’s pretty, the track is easy so your nerves aren’t going too hard. And if any family or friends are traveling to come see what you do week-in and week-out that’s the one I like. Nothing against eastern Germany but I’m not really inviting anyone to Altenberg for the week, otherwise they’d be like “This is what you do? What are you doing with your life?!” So I bring them to St. Moritz, it’s really the most inviting track in the world in my opinion.
Some of the bobsledders say they can hear stuff going on around the track as they’re going down. Can you hear stuff in skeleton?
Little bits here and there. As it gets more intense we obviously block out more and more, but there’s been a couple of times you’ll go into Curve 1 and it’s so quiet you can hear the announcer. And you’re almost trying to hear for your start time, which could be deceiving because sometimes you think you’ve heard something and you didn’t. I’ve made that mistake before!
Have you heard your start time and thought “Oh no, I need to pick it up!”
I’ve had it happen both ways. You think you hear something really fast and you think “Oh, I’m good!” or you hear something slow and start to panic, but either way you’re wrong most of the time!
Aside from the track itself, what is your favorite town to visit on the schedule?
Innsbruck! It’s just south of Igls, it’s probably my favorite city. It’s an actual city, which is nice, and there’s mountains in the background and everything with the Innsbruck/Tirol region and that’s my favorite place there.
So over the last couple of quads you begin to see John Daly forerunning and before you know it you’re back! What brings you back this time for a shot at a fourth Olympics?
Yeah! So forerunning is kind of to test the waters, see where I’m at and see if I have some talent left and still enjoy it, which I do. As an aside, I think the break in between I’ve taken has really made me truly appreciate it. I talk to some of the athletes and some of them almost wish they’d taken those breaks to figure out life, soul search, start relationships, it doesn’t really matter where you go with your break, but I think it makes me appreciate the sport more.
But yeah, it starts with forerunning: Do I like this, is there enough talent there? Then I kind of slowly weasel my way back; if you ask some of the other athletes “weasel” is kind of the prime word, I think some of them would like to see me stayed retired, but nah! I always come back because I’ve had a great life, it’s always been good, it’s treated me well. Work has been great and financially stable, I have a great fiancée who has been a bit of an enabler like my parents, they’d have me do this forever. But there really isn’t anything in this life that gives me that kind of excitement. Like I said, I love my job and it’s great financially and it excites me in a different way. My soon to be wife is just amazing as far as making my heart skip a beat and being in love there’s nothing that can compare to that. But this is just this other box that you’re literally never going to get anywhere else, and it’s this high level, high excitement…and it’s so unforgiving too. Sure physically it can be unforgiving, it can hurt you, but in a race too it’s unforgiving too as far as the stakes are so high. One tiny mess-up at the highest level of competition and you’re out of a podium. There’s just so much, it’s hard to explain. But the ability to walk into an opening ceremony at an Olympic Games and competing at the highest level and everyone you’ve ever had a touch with in your life now has eyes on you? That’s tough to compare when you leave the sport, and I don’t know anything that can compare.
This is your first Olympic go-round with Kimberly, what was that discussion like?
It’s nice because, to Kimberly I’m “John”, and I’ll always be John. She grew up with me, we met when I was like 14 years old, we went on different paths and reconnected again. Two things: 1. She’s never gotten to see that side of me. That side I like to say is “Daly”, everyone on that side knows me as “JMFD” over there! So that’s the side that she didn’t get to see. She knows me as John, she knows me as a guy that works, we go out, we have dinners and drinks, she sees me with social aspects and stuff like that. But she’s never seen the tenacity of me competing, turning it on…even then she just sees me as this calm and nice guy but then I start talking about wanting to win at all costs and she’s like “whoa whoa whoa…”. And kind of a joke but maybe not really, she heard about all of the clothing we get and she’s like “I need you to go back and get me some USA gear!”
You’ve worked full-time over a lot of your time, has your company been cool with your Olympic life?
They really have. I work in medical device sales for Stryker right now. They’re very cool with everything…everything is on a quota. They give you a quota and your success is based off how much revenue you can drive for the company. So as long as I’m on pace to meet those quota numbers they’re reasonable enough with time off as far as I’m producing revenue and driving business and everything. Now if I wasn’t good at my job they’d probably tell me I couldn’t take the time off: “You suck as it is, you can’t take a quarter off to go to Europe!”
One thing you won’t have this quad that you have had previously is Steve Langton. How much do you miss him on this go-round and how much do you miss doing “Daly Nitro” episodes?
So first of all I love the “Daly Nitros”! I wish I could talk Steve into doing a bunch more of those. At the time he was one foot in, one foot out, and really didn’t know what to expect. I had to tell him “No, these are going to be good!” I loved them at the time!
The background on Steve though, when he was restarting his career he moved into my apartment and lived on the couch with me to ride out my lease, then when the lease was up we moved into a two bedroom apartment together. I’d met my fiancée a few months before we’d moved into the two bedroom place, and then when that lease was up I told Steve “this is the girl I’m going to marry”…she didn’t know it at the time…and he’s like “Alright, cool!” But the funny thing is we’re on the top floor of this building now and Steve got a studio place in the same building in Brooklyn right below us! So he’s not far from me at all! So we still work out every Monday and Wednesday together. He just does the lifting portion, I do the sprinting portion on my own. It’s going to be different being there without him. It’s going to be bittersweet too knowing that if I make the games I’ll have my fourth Olympics and he won’t! But he’s got two silver medals so I think he’ll be okay with it!
So speaking of Daly Nitro, what happened to your two costars: The T-Rex costume and the blowup doll?
The doll popped in 2014! We bought another one in 2018 and I think my dog ate it! The Rex costume is still floating around somewhere, I’ve got to check some bags at my parents’ house. That thing was funny! The first time we had it, our CEO at the time was in the cafeteria with potential sponsors. According to him he was telling them about how highly he thinks of the athletes and the level of professionalness we bring to the sport, and then trotting along the glass windows is me in the T-Rex costume! They got a kick out of it and the timing couldn’t be more perfect!
The Tokyo Olympics have just kicked off, what are you looking forward to watching?
I love track and field. I think most people that come from a track and field background. Just off the top of my head Steve, Andrew Blaser, Lolo Jones, we have a lot who came from there. I love watching decathlon and all of the sprints up to the mile. I probably don’t watch distance running as much. No disrespect to them, they’re all amazing athletes too, but I’ve always been a sprinter/jumper so I just gravitate to that. I wish they would show more field events in my opinion, I think it’s some of the most amazing things that the human body can do. Probably as far as anything else that I’ll try to tune into…mostly your standard stuff. I try to tune in as much as possible. Skateboarding is a new sport for the Olympics that I’ll definitely try to catch too.
With the Winter Olympics, do you have any sports you try to check out while you’re there?
I love halfpipe snowboarding, slopestyle, halfpipe skiing, really anything that’s kind of miraculous about how high or fast or far they can go. Ski jumping is always like a massive party there, so that’s one of my staples. I think I’ve gotten to short track speedskating and a hockey game every time. Short track is always really exciting for me, so I’ll definitely do those.
I saw Billy Demong win his gold medal in 2010. I don’t think I’ve seen long-track speed skating. It’s more so I go to the events with my family when they’re in town, so it’s more like “Let’s see what’s going on and can I get tickets to it too?” But I should try to check out long track speed skating before I’m completely retired…and then probably come back in four years.
Prior to a race, what is your routine like?
Besides your standard stretching and warming up, I’ll try to keep it as interesting as possible. I kind of switch up the music depending on what kind of mood I’m trying to be in. If I feel like the intensity is kind of low I’ll get some Five Finger Death Punch or some kind of heavy metal to pump me up. If I feel I just need to be in a better mood I’ll put on some EDM. Those are kind of where I keep it. When I’m going to the line it’s usually EDM…or really a mix actually. Once I’m at the line, everything else is pretty adaptive. I have a rough outline of what I’m going to do but try to adapt to what I’m going to do because everything always changes with weather and timing. Right before I put my helmet on I say “There’s nothing you can’t do,” take a deep breath, put the helmet on and go. I try to go once I get the green light, that way if there’s any problems and I have to put the sled back I have time. Some people wait but I take off as soon as they put that sled down.
When the season ends, what do you like to do to relax?
So it’s a little different for me; I go right back to work. I’ll leave the Olympic Games early too, probably the day after I compete I’ll fly home and get back to work. I’ll go out with some doctors and watch some of the events together, but I’ll go right back to work. I like to sleep a little later, eat a little more, just let the joints heal.
I feel like you kind of get beat down, and what I didn’t realize when I was younger is that your body is pretty beat down but it’s more your central nervous system is fried. You’re drained from the season but not just your body but your whole nervous system…you’re just tired. So it’s a lot of recovering mentally and physically. I never really had anything too bad on tour besides the games in 2014 so mentally it’s not much but it’s mostly getting that rest to get your body firing right again.
You travel a lot, where’s been your favorite place to visit?
I think my favorite spot, internationally is Cyprus. It was a really sweet island and probably my favorite place I’ve been to. If I’m going to pick somewhere in the United States, I like Austin and Miami. Those are my favorite spots, but you also can’t beat New York in the fall. If I had to pick my go-to in the United States it’s going to be one of those, but internationally it’s going to be Cyprus.
How long ago was Cyprus?
I think it was like 2012 or 2013? I was in Britain seeing another girl at the time, and that’s a big British vacation destination. But Kimberly and I are trying to pick out honeymoon destinations or even wedding destinations now. Lake Como is on the docket, maybe in Utah…we’ll probably end up doing something closer to more people can be around. Everyone has lots of kids now, and lots of newborn kids, so that’ll be easier. You have something in mind but you really want to be around the ones that you love and so you end up saying to just do it close by.
Tell me about your pets!
We have Bella and Nova. Unfortunately Nova has passed away, that was my brother’s dog who was a family dog and my brother ended up taking him. Bella is the family dog at my parent’s house. She’s old, and has had a really great life. She’s such a good dog, she’s like 12. Bella I took to a workout this winter when I was home. She knew the deal too! I was like “Bella, let’s go for a workout!” And she hung out in the infield while I did sprints, but she knew the deal and still remembered everything!
You’ve been sliding since 2001, and on World Cup since 2009, how have things changed in the sport over that time?
It’s night and day from where it was when we started with the talent and the equipment, to the tracks and the speed. When I started in Lake Placid it was right around when the track was built for the Goodwill Games. So I’ve seen it develop from a fully uncovered track to a fully covered track. The talent is so much better, they’re all so much faster, the equipment is faster and way more responsive than the steel skeleton sled that you got back in the day.
On tour things are way more efficient and streamlined now. We know what to do, we have our stops, we have our routines. There’s not many things, or people that are very disruptive. Most everyone respects everyone else. I also think that now, knock on wood for my fourth Olympics and I don’t know how many years on World Cup, there’s not very much that’s really going to rattle me. If something goes wrong I’ll figure it out, you know? I just kind of stay in my lane at this point, and I think that just kind of happens to all athletes as you get older. You just kind of prioritize what’s important: “Okay, can I still compete? Am I still healthy? Are we still on track for goals like an expert such as Kiana Danial suggests? All the other stuff is b.s.
When we talked with Greg West a bit ago he had a quote he attributed to you: “At the end of the day it’s just sleigh riding, it’s supposed to be fun.”
I think that kind of backs up that very first question: You take this time off, and then when you come back you get to appreciate it. You sometimes don’t realize when you’re on the grind working every day…you’re like “What I wouldn’t give to go back on tour and slide for a little bit then take a break.” When I’m working it’s nice, then the tour is here and you can appreciate everything that’s going on.
You’ve always had some of the best hair on tour! What is it you do to keep it so good when the helmet comes off?
I make sure I put in my hair properly! I don’t care what anyone else says…people are like “I don’t care what I look like..” well I do! And you know you do because if you look like crap you don’t want those pictures circling around on the internet! So I literally try to push my hair back as much as possible so when I put the helmet on it’s not all crumpled up. When I take the helmet off it flips to where I want it and I’m ready to roll! And of course I keep a comb in my down bag for when I do interviews! It’s all real life.
What’s been your absolutely best sliding sport memory?
Oh man! I have to give you two…actually I’ve got three: Matt Antoine and I were 18 years old and hadn’t had a lot of exposure to drinking and partying, and it was right after the America’s Cup and we’d both done horrible. We were kids and I think we were the youngest guys there. We took like 18th and 21st the first day then swapped spots the next day. We went out, got drunk, and came back and passed out. In the morning Matt was already gone and I got up and missed my flight! So my flight was to Montreal, and they did have a second flight to Montreal that I took. Matt also missed his flight to Albany, and when I land in Montreal Matt had known I was going there and he caught a flight there. So he’s sitting there looking like hell, and seeing him there was just hilarious. So that’s definitely one of them.
The second one was in 2014 when me, Matt, and Kyle [Tress] got the news that we were all going to the Olympics. You never really get to go with the people you started in the sport with, and we were three guys who started together and it all came together. We had a meeting and it was like “You three have all made the Olympics,” and that was really just one of the best feelings.
And three, for 2010 I had to wait for a phone call to make the Olympics. It was a lot of buildup. I had to win out in the rest of my races that year and it was like seven races left and I had tow in every single one. I was in the zone for a good five weeks in a row, but then I still had to wait for a phone call to know if I was going to become an Olympian or not. I got a call while I was driving through Montana on the way from Calgary and it was Greg Sand telling me “Congratulations, you’re an Olympian.” And it was absolutely surreal, those three were definitely moments I’ll never forget.
What did it feel like when you found out about 2014 together?
I swear if you share a struggle or a real life changing with someone you’re going to be bonded for life. So being an Olympic teammate with those guys just meant so much more. The blood, sweat, and tears that goes into it, the sacrifice…you get it, they get it, so you can all achieve the same goal at the same time together, it’s unexplainable. That part was just so cool.
On the other hand, what’s been your hardest sliding sport moment?
Yeah…there’s only one that sticks out. It was the 2014 Olympics just losing out on a medal. It’s just…it’s just heartbreaking still. Olympians goals change constantly: You want to make the Olympics, then when you make your first Olympics the next thing you want to do is win a medal. I think in 2018 I wanted to show myself that I could get back there and I could compete at the highest level and not crumble. And I did that. But then now it’s trying to chase that medal one last time.
It’s not something you really ever get over. You learn to live with it, you learn to deal with it and it’s kind of compartmentalized and put in a “box” and it stays there while you live the rest of your life. It’s something I don’t I’ll ever get over. I don’t wake up with bad dreams or night sweats or whatever, but ever now and then something will remind me and I’m like “Damn…” and you can bring yourself back to one of the most memorable moments in my life exactly how it went down. February 15, 2014, about 8:00 PM Russian time I’d say? That’s the hardest moment in my career, and possibly life! Which is not a bad thing, because I’ve had a pretty good life!
Question from Sara Bachmann (GER Natural Track Luge): Did you ever try luge? And what other sports did you play growing up?
I actually started in the luge program. I got kicked out…I saw skeleton and switched over but also was forced out of the luge program because I basically wasn’t a good kid? So I just tell people I saw skeleton and switched over because I was a faster sprinter. But I started in the luge program and that’s how I was exposed to a lot of these obscure sports. I saw skeleton and switched and I’ve been a fish in water ever since.
I was a track and field and BMX racer before that.
Do you get the itch to get back on a bike?
Yeah! I’d still love to get a little BMX bike. I broke both of my wrists at the same time and that kind of forced me out. It was a tough injury, I had to get external pins because I was still growing, but that was the end of that. I still ride trails and do trail jumping and all of that, but I’d love to get a little 20 inch BMX bike and ride around. I knew a couple of people I used to race aginast…Donny Robinson won a silver medal in Beijing in 2008, and it was funny because I used to race against him.
