Rochester native, former track star Williams surprises with bobsled effort

Devan Parise is known around Rochester as Lauryn Williams' best friend, so she's used to going to the local pizza shop or high school basketball game and having people ask about the town's Olympic track and field star.

Still, Williams' former high school teammate never thought she would be fielding questions leading up to the Winter Olympics. Even Parise didn't know Williams was trying her hand at bobsled until she sent a picture last summer, surprising even those close to her.

“I was like, ‘What the heck? Well, OK, good for you,' ” said Parise, who coaches track and field at their alma mater. “I still did not think it would get her where she's at today, but she's really embraced it and taken it on as a challenge.”

Williams is in Sochi, Russia, preparing to compete in her fourth Olympic Games. It's a remarkable feat for someone with six months of experience in the sport, even one with an athletic resume such as hers.

The former WPIAL and PIAA star, who won gold in 2012 in the 400-meter relay, is just the ninth American athlete to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics (bobsled teammate Lolo Jones, another track and field crossover, is the 10th). Should Williams medal, she would be the first to do so in back-to-back Summer and Winter games.

She and Jones worked out a deal — the exchange of an apple, she said — to determine who would be the ninth and who would be the 10th U.S. athlete to make both Winter and Summer Olympic appearances. Beyond that, the significance of her accomplishment hasn't quite sunk in yet.

“To be honest, things have been going so fast that I haven't had much time to sit, think and process just how big this moment is,” Williams said via email from Sochi. “The focus has been on training and getting better. Once I'm back in the States and I have time to put my bags down and breathe I'm sure it will hit me. Until then, my focus and energy is in making ‘The Wolfpack' (women's bobsled team) as competitive as possible.”

Williams, 30, said making the team was bittersweet. As excited as she was to be named, it meant the same women who helped her learn the ropes were excluded.

“Everyone on the World Cup tour had more experience than me, and I had to depend heavily on the veterans to get me up to speed and often pick up my slack in areas where I was lacking initially,” she said. “There is an interesting dynamic to having to depend on those you compete against to make sure you are competent. Each girl shared information willingly, and so you can understand how it would be painful to watch your mentors be eliminated.”

But Williams, who came in third in the U.S. National Push Championships, proved more than capable during the competition season, taking the silver with driver Jazmine Fenlator in her first World Cup appearance in November and her first gold with driver Jamie Greubel in Igls, Austria, on Jan. 19.

The win made the pressure to medal in Sochi even greater, but that's one thing with which the track and field star is more than accustomed.

“There's always pressure to win, especially when you're attempting represent your country at the Olympic Games on a team full of talented individuals and everyone has more experience than you,” she said. “But I've competed on the Olympic stage before, so I've learned how to not let the pressure get to me. The gold in Igls was really big because it was the first and only of the season for myself and driver Jamie Greubel. I think it helped boost our confidence. Now we just have to build on it.”

Rochester athletic director Ryan Bauer was coaching football when Williams was in high school. He said that no matter what happens, they'll celebrate her accomplishments and have more to add to the trophy case that displays her achievements.

“We're very excited about seeing what happens this winter,” Bauer said. “We're all very, very proud of her.”

Williams' family mostly has moved from Rochester, but she returned home for a visit and stayed with Parise the weekend after Christmas.

Parise was in Beijing to watch Williams compete in 2008. This year she'll host watch parties and think about how not long ago she never would have guessed that her friend would be competing in yet another Olympics.

“But that's Lauryn, that's her personality. She never stops,” Parise said. “I'm surprised she picked bobsled, but I'm not surprised that she's going for another dream.”

Karen Price is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach her at kprice@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KarenPrice_Trib.