PARK CITY, Utah — Pocatello native Andy Whittier was as close to making the U.S. Olympic Team as you can get without procuring a ticket to Italy.

Whittier, a former Pocatello High School and Idaho State University football player, has been moving up the skeleton ranks for the last five years. He made his debut on the World Cup circuit this winter and came within one position of making the U.S. Olympic Team.

The top two point-getters among male and female racers qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team, which will compete in the ongoing Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Whittier finished third in the point standings, which meant he was standing by at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Park City today, waiting to catch a flight to Italy in case either Dan Barefoot or Austin Florian − the two U.S. male team members − were somehow incapacitated.

They made it to Italy just fine, however, so Whittier will have to continue his quest to make the U.S. Team over the next four years.

Despite just missing out on this year’s Olympics, it was a successful World Cup debut season for Whittier. He spends his summers training at the U.S. Olympic Facilities in Lake Placid, N.Y. and his winters traveling the world for competition.

“I needed the experience at the top level World Cup races,” said Whittier. “It was very humbling to see what that competition was like. It let me know what I need to work on for the 2030 Games in France and the 2034 Games in Park City.”

In addition to making his debut on the World Cup circuit, Whittier was back-to-back national push champion. That is a competition designed to test the start, speed and acceleration capabilities of athletes, typically held on an indoor ice track before the sliding season begins.

Now five years into his skeleton career, Whittier feels like he’s still ahead of schedule as far as his development is concerned.

“As far as the skeleton world goes, it usually takes four to five years to get on to some of the racing circuits,” he said. “I’m in my fifth year and I’ve made it to the World Cup level, so I’m ahead of my personal schedule.”

The World Cup competition took him to racing venues in Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Latvia. He provided a video of his World Cup race in Altenberg, Germany, where the commentator said the ice “looks like they’ve been up and down it with a floor polisher.” He reached a top speed of 72 mph at the bottom of the race track.

While he spends most of his time in either New York or on the World Cup circuit these days, Whittier still drops by Pocatello to see his mom. He’s thankful for his local sponsors who allow him to compete and train year-round.

They include Lookout Credit Union, KRT Muscle Relief Cream, Hooligans Bar, Cole Chevrolet, Luco Prints, the Spillett family and the Stradinger family.

“The skeleton world is 95% sponsorship driven,” said Whittier. “I’m super thankful for the sponsors from Pocatello. Once you move up high enough in the skeleton world, you do get a small stipend, but it’s not like anything you can survive on.”