Mystique Ro, BDHS alumnus, is training to compete in the 2022 Olympics in the skeleton competition. She is a 2012 graduate with a reputation as a track star, competing in the 100-meter dash with a personal record of 12.49 seconds.

Ro was then offered a scholarship to Queens College that covered more than half of her tuition because of her track skills, where she graduated from in 2016 with a degree in communications. It was at Queens that she decided to compete for the Olympics after her roommate suggested that they compete in a regional combine for the USA Bobsled team in North Carolina.

While she did not perform particularly well at the event, the search committee contacted her because of her immense speed. She went to the United States Bobsled and Rookie Skeleton Rookie Camp in Lake Placid, where it was recommended she transfered to skeleton racing. This dangerous sport involves sledding head first down an ice path and became a permanent Olympic event in 2002, though it had a couple appearances in 1928 and 1948.

She was very skeptical at first, because when she was introduced to the sport at the 2010 Olympics, she thought it was way too weird and dangerous, saying “I thought people had to be insane to be in that sport.” Still, she decided to give it a chance, especially given the history of the sport and its time as an Olympic event. She began an intense, although inconsistent, training regime.

On Sept. 11, 2017, Ro competed in the USA Skeleton National Push Championship. This was scored with a combination of the best two times for every competitor. Push competitions have no negative effect on skeleton racing, but that did not stop her from putting in her best effort. Ro won first place with times of 5.04 and 5.09, for a combined score of 10.13.

While Ro was very excited about her win, she also viewed it as a reality check, saying “The competition felt too close for comfort, seeing as the second and third place finishers were right behind me. My thoughts went immediately to next year, mentally preparing for how to leave a bigger gap in trying to defend my new title.” Since she is very new to the sport, she is hoping that her impressive times will help her earn a spot on a national team.

The next competition took place on Oct. 8, and was the first part of the USA Team selection races. Ro was not very nervous, stating “Going into this race, I knew I had the least amount of sliding experience, plus I didn’t have my own equipment. I didn’t feel the same pressure as the majority of the other athletes because I was brand new.”

She did not perform well at these races; the first race was slow and, during the second one, she was classified as a did not finish (DNF) because she crashed her sled. Because of a headache resulting from the crash, she was advised against competing in the race at Lake Placid that same day. She was disappointed because it was her home track, but she knew it was the best option, saying, “It was hard, but I know it was for my health and safety.”

Ro has decided to make the 2022 Olympics her main goal, but has set up smaller goals between now and then, hoping to go from rank 14 to rank 10 in the next season. She is going to continue to train herself and refine her skills, using the program she learned from her college track coach, and she knows that location is not as important as the event. She is saving as much as she can until she gains more recognition from sponsors, and has a GoFundMe set up to help fuel her progress.