Nathan Crumpton ’08 finishes 19th in skeleton at Beijing Winter Olympics

Even before he took to the track to compete in skeleton at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Nathan Crumpton ’08 had already made headlines around the world.

For the opening ceremony of the games, Crumpton, who represents American Samoa, was dressed in traditional Samoan clothing. According to Sports Illustrated, he wore a pale fuiono headpiece decorated with nautilus shells, tapa cloth made from mulberry bark, and a feathered kiki fulumoa around his waist. During the Opening Ceremony, he drew quite a bit of attention among viewers worldwide.

Meet Nathan Crumpton, the shirtless flag bearer representing American Samoa who is an accomplished author, model and skeleton veteran https://t.co/X5X0EQmznm
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 10, 2022

During the ceremony, Google searches for “American Samoa” surged. After receiving a flood of media requests from reporters, Crumpton had to publicly declare that he would not speak to journalists until after he was finished competing.

Crumpton’s skeleton event is one of the more unusual Olympic sports. In this event, participants run and hurl themselves onto a sled and ride down, headfirst, on an icy 1615 meter — about one mile — long track at speeds up to nearly 95 miles per hour.

In the men’s and women’s competition, all riders get four runs. At the end of the event, all participants' times are added together and calculated to the hundredth of a second. The competitor with the fastest combined time is named the winner.

With a time of 4:06.80, Crumpton finished 19th overall at the 2022 Beijing Games. Although Crumpton failed to earn a medal, the result was not his only focus during the games. Crumpton recently declared his candidacy in the current election for one of two open spots on the International Olympic Committee athletes’ commission. Crumpton has said he hopes to increase financial stability for Olympic athletes, who often have trouble affording the expensive costs of competition.

Crumpton has struggled with his own sport’s financial demands. He spent $340 of his own money to reactivate the American Samoa Bobsled Federation in 2020. He has also spent around a total of $40,000 just this past season to compete. A scholarship from the International Olympic Committee’s Solidarity Fund has covered half of these expenses. Crumpton even started a GoFundMe page to raise money, promising to put the names of donors inside his sled.

Even with the steep financial demands, Crumpton seemed determined to continue competing. With his appearance in the Beijing Winter Games, he became one of just over 100 athletes to compete in both the Winter and Summer games, having represented American Samoa last summer in the 100-meter sprint.

“I realize that my days of top 10 World Cups and World Championship finishes are likely behind me,” he told the New York Times. “It’s more been about just sliding and having fun.”

Akshay Swani is a contributor to the Sports and News sections at the 'Prince.' He can be reached at ns9735@princeton.edu.