(This story first published on gowyo.com)
Quincy Howe knew exactly which Wyoming track and field athlete could handle some tough winter sledding.
When an email from USA Bobsled/Skeleton popped into Howe's inbox last summer probing for athletes with Olympic traits conducive to bobsledding, the program's associate head coach and longtime jumps coach forwarded the message to Cowgirls long jump standout Sadie McMullen.
"She was a good candidate. She has what it takes in terms of what the requisites are for success at it," Howe said. "They do a lot of recruiting in track in field, in rugby and size and speed is what they are looking for. Sadie has that so when they reached out, she was the first person that came to mind."
At the encouragement of Howe, the senior from Morrison, Colo., drove with her parents to Salt Lake City for a combine, which led to an invitation to a rookie camp in Lake Placid, N.Y.
After a 10-week crash course in the sport, McMullen was selected to be one of six push athletes as part of the USA Bobsled's 2024-25 World Cup team. Her first race is this weekend in Saint Moritz, Switzerland.
"My goal has always kind of been to become a professional athlete and I always thought it was going to be track," McMullen said on the One Wyoming Podcast.  "As Quincy Howe said, it's now a different sled. I'm so excited to represent Wyoming on the world stage."
McMullen, who will graduate from UW with a master's degree in biomechanics, holds the No. 2 mark in program history in the indoor long jump (20 feet, 7 ¾ inches) and the No. 3 mark in the outdoor long jump (20-6 ¼).
Howe was hoping McMullen would be competing for the Cowgirls this spring, but her Olympic pursuit was fast tracked after a strong performance in her new sport during the selection process for the World Cup squad.
On Dec. 7, McMullen put on the brwon and gold one last time and won the long jump at the with a mark of 20-3 at UW's Power Meet in the War Memorial Fieldhouse.
"My teammates convinced me to start the slow clap for my last two jumps which I had never done before. That was honestly so fun," McMullen said. "It was really special and the emotions after my last jump were definitely high. There were definitely some tears, but it was a fun meet to look back on."
McMullen tested well in the 40-meter sprint, broad jump, vertical jump and prowler sled push in Salt Lake City. In the fall, on top of her normal training for track and field, she did weight training with UW sports performance coach Josh Little to prepare for pushing a bobsled.
Sadie McMullen jumping at the 2023 Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships
Following a week of workouts in Lake Placid, the national team director of performance asked McMullen to stay for the World Cup team selection races.
"Thankfully, it seems like my training has translated really well," McMullen said. "The pushing kind of comes a little bit more naturally so that was good. Going down the actual bobsled track, I've only gone down five times. I was only able to go down that last week I was there.
"I was sliding with Elana Meyers Taylor who is an incredible athlete and the most decorated female bobsledder of all time. The team chemistry was really good, she was really helpful, she taught me so much and I'm excited to keep sliding with her."
Meyers Taylor, who has collected three silver medals and two bronze medals over the past four Olympic Games, is the pilot with McMullen in the brakeman role for the two-woman bobsled event.
McMullen left for Europe on Dec. 28 and will also compete in races Austria, Germany and Norway through Feb. 10 before the World Championships this March in Lake Placid.
Team USA for the 2026 Games in Milan, Italy, will be determined by a selection committee following the push championships in August.
McMullen's dream is to slide for the brand on the Olympic stage.
"Wyoming has been nothing but good to me and I'm so proud to have gone to school here and competed in the brown and gold," McMullen said. "The people here have been so amazing, and I would love nothing more than to support the school and just represent the brown and gold."
Past UW athletes to represent America in the Olympics include Jessica Cross (hammer throw and shot put, 2000 Sydney), Scott Usher (swimming, 2004 Athens) and Mason Finley (discus, 2020 Tokyo).
"It's rare air," Howe said of McMullen's quest. "It doesn't happen very often and it's something we are excited at the possibility that it can happen."
