USNA at the Winter Olympics
POSTED ON: Friday, February 20, 2026 12:00 AM by Adam Minakowski
Naval Academy midshipmen and alumni are no strangers to the Olympics. The Naval Academy Athletic Association lists 85 midshipmen and graduates who have participated in the Olympics over the years. Almost all of them - including the storied 1920 and 1952 gold medal rowing teams - participated in the summer games, but with the winter games in progress, this post will look at the Naval Academy Olympian and Paralympian who participated in winter sports.
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| Bob Weissenfels's co-captain profile from the 1989 Army-Navy Game program and the cover photo of his bobsled team on a run from All Hands magazine. |
The USNA winter Olympian was Bob Weissenfels, who graduated in 1990 and participated in the 1992 Albertville, France, games. A member of the academy’s football and track teams, Ensign Weissenfels was preparing for Naval Flight School Training in 1991 when he first tried out for the U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team. Following graduation, he continued to run track with the Armed Services team whose coach suggested he try bobsledding. Weissenfels told the academy’s Trident newspaper at the time, “I always thought it would be fun to try,” and that “it’s really a combination of sprinting and power.” So both of his collegiate sports prepared him for his new one. His leadership training also came into play as he was co-captain of the bobsled team after having the same role on Navy’s 1989 football team. He participated in the four-man sled competition, which came in eleventh at the Olympics.
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| Dan Cnossen's photo from the 2002 Lucky Bag and on the slopes from January-February 2014 issue of Shipmate magazine. |
USNA’s winter Paralympian was Dan Cnossen from the class of 2002. He was a member of the academy’s marathon team and was also a triathlete before losing both his legs to an IED in 2009 while serving in Afghanistan. As profiled in Shipmate magazine in 2014, Cnossen was not one to shy away from new challenges. Arriving at USNA not knowing how to swim, he became a Navy SEAL. After learning how to resume running and swimming using prosthetics, he set his sights on winter sports without much experience in them prior to his injury. Working with the Paralympic Military Program, he took up cross-county skiing and biathlon. He competed in three Paralympic Games: 2014 in Sochi, Russia, 2018 in PyeonChang, South Korea, and 2022 in Beijing, China. The 2018 games proved to be his best as he won one gold, four silver, and one bronze medals in multiple biathlon and cross-country skiing distances. Another gold medal followed in 2022 as part of the mixed 4x2.5 relay cross-country team.
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About the author: Adam Minakowski is an Assistant Archivist in the Special Collections & Archives Department, Nimitz Library, United States Naval Academy
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Sources:
Dorey, Joseph. "Pushing for the USA." All Hands. No. 902 (May 1992), p. 20-27.
Football Programs: Army, 9 December 1989. Box 29, folder 5. Naval Academy Athletic Association Records, Special Collections & Archives Department, Nimitz Library, United States Naval Academy.
The Lucky Bag. Annapolis, Md.: The Brigade of Midshipman, 2022.
Maconi, Caryn. “No Challenge Too Great.” Shipmate. Vol. 77, no. 1 (January-February 2014), p. 40-42.
Weissenfels, Robert. Alumni Jacket. Special Collections & Archives Department, Nimitz Library, United States Naval Academy.
Category: History, Special Collections & Archives