Seven months after the closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympics, the constant chatter about Michael Phelps and other ’08 stars is finally starting to subside (minus, of course, the weekly reviews of Shawn Johnson’s footwork in “Dancing with the Stars”). Sure, I’m still proud of the accomplishments our athletes made in Beijing, but now it’s time to look forward, to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and prospective athletes like Steven Holcomb.

The Park City-born bobsledder fell short of the medal platform in 2006, placing sixth in the four-man event and 14th in the two-man. In fact, he’s fallen short at multiple world-class competitions in the past few years. But, in an undeniably admirable move, he hasn’t let any of it defeat him. Instead, he’s aiming higher.

“Unfortunately, in the Olympic Games, you are either a Medalist or not,” Holcomb said. “It doesn’t matter if you place fourth or twenty-fourth; it’s the same thing. Since I’m already an Olympian, my goal is to try and better that by winning a medal.”

He has reason to feel confident about that goal, having just taken the top title at the World Championships in Lace Placid, IL in the four-man with fellow teammates Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler, and Curtis Tomasevicz. Before that, Holcomb and his teammates won double-gold in the four-man races at the World Cup in his hometown of Park City.

“There is nothing better than winning a race in front of all your friends and family,” Holcomb said. “Wait, actually there is: winning two races!”

Holcomb has worked through various hard-ships and mistakes in the sport to get to the point of multiple successes. “I’d like to think that I did everything right and that I wouldn’t do anything differently—no regrets—but there are just too many ‘things’ to mess up that there’s no way I could have done it all right.”

One big example he points to: the 2005 World Championships, when Holcomb had the responsibility of choosing his push team. (A four-man team is made up of a driver and three pushers; Holcomb was the driver and, although he helps push the sled in the beginning, he’s not a “pusher.”) Though he thought he’d made the right selections at the time, it later became clear he didn’t.

“I was wrong in my decision, and I ended up with the wrong team,” he said. “On top of it, I decided to bench an athlete while his entire family was there to watch. It was nothing personal, but I made the wrong decision for the wrong reasons. In case you were wondering, it was Curt Tomasevicz [who] I benched. He’s my current brakeman for two- and four-man, and we have won multiple World Cup medals since. Oops.”

But Holcomb isn’t letting those mistakes affect his training. Between winning gold medals at international competitions, he is devoting nearly all his time to bettering his skills. Sure, the fact that he doesn’t let himself get down about past mistakes is admirable, but his seemingly unwavering dedication to bettering himself as an athlete is downright unbelievable.

“During the winter months I do nothing but bobsledding,” he said. “I don’t really have a home actually; I bounce from Olympic Training Center to Olympic Training Center [which are in Lake Placid, NY, Colorado Springs, CO, and Chula Vista, CA]; and from one parent’s house to another [which are in Park City and Colorado Springs].”

For Holcomb, it’s just a day in the life. “I’m aiming [to be an Olympian] for 2010, 2014, 2018, and hopefully 2022. The biggest thing I can take into the next four Olympics is that no matter what happens between now and then, I am, and always will be an Olympian.”

Needless to say, he doesn’t have much time for other hobbies. Even in the summer, when he doesn’t do much bobsledding, he’s lifting weights and running. “It’s at such an intense level that I’m rarely in the mood for any other outside activities.” Instead, if he has any time to himself, he spends it running his website, TeamHolcomb.com and playing games online.

Holcomb isn’t complaining, though. Said Holcomb, “I’m a ‘lifer’ in this sport. I’m living the dream, and I don’t want to wake up.”

Oh, and for those wondering out there, Holcomb is a fan of the bobsled movie, Cool Runnings. “I grew up watching Cool Runnings, and it’s a great movie. I still watch it whenever I stumble across it on TV.”

But, even if it is the ultimate bobsled movie, it’s not necessarily the ultimate truthful depiction of the sport. “The only problem I have with the movie is that it was ‘based on a true story,’ the key word there being based. It’s hard for me to sit back and watch a movie accuse the Americans of cheating over and over and over. That never happened.” And just one more thing: “By the way, a four-man bobsled weighs 450 pounds empty. There is no way four guys could lift one up on their shoulders and carry it 50 meters, on ice.”