It's different from football under the Friday night lights, but Aaron Spiliopoulos is up for the challenge of becoming a bobsledding star on the international stage.

"I didn't know anything about it, I was just a big strong football guy,” said Spiliopoulos, a Raleigh native and junior at East Carolina. “Kind of transitioned into it right away, and now I'm like, oh shoot, now I have to lift even heavier weights, ever faster. The fast is everything, training that fast-twitch muscle fiber."

What You Need To Know

  • Aaron Spiliopoulos played football in high school at Southeast Raleigh

  • During the pandemic, he developed a passion for bobsledding

  • Now, the East Carolina junior competes in bobsledding around the world and is looking to qualify for the 2026 winter Olympics

  • He hopes to be part of the first Israeli team to compete in the sport at the Olympics

Spiliopoulos played football for Southeast Raleigh High School. His passion for bobsledding started in 2021, when his father donated $54 to an Israeli bobsled team.

The donation came with an offer. His father said if you need a fast, strong guy, my son is doing nothing, sitting at home, studying during the global pandemic.

Since then, Spiliopoulos has become an expert in bobsledding, a sport not readily accessible in North Carolina.

"You have three things in bobsled,” he said. “You have the push, the drive and the equipment.”

“You need to have two out of three of those things in order to be competitive, in order to give yourself the best chance possible at making the Olympics," said Spiliopoulos, who hopes to qualify for bobsledding at the 2026 winter games.

 In three seasons of bobsledding, he has become part of a team that ranks 40th in the world.

"Right now we have the drive,” he said. “Having the push is super important. We're working on that right now, constantly recruiting brakemen, but the investment will also allow brakemen to come over instead of throwing them in on race week and saying, hey, I know you've never seen a sled before, but you gotta figure it out man."

Spiliopoulos is trying to raise money for his team and bobsled journey. A new sled could cost $30,000 to $50,000. Ice spikes and helmets can cost $10,000. Then there’s $25,000 for traveling to competitions around the world.

Support from friends, family and his community is vital to the team's success.

"Super important that we get the equipment going,” he said. “Right now, we're driving a Volkswagen Beetle, and everybody's driving a Mercedes on ice."

But money isn’t the only barrier to succeeding in the winter Olympic sport.

"My whole family kind of migrated to Israel in World War II, from both parents, mom and dad,” Spiliopoulos said. “And the Jewish people were kind of homeless after the Holocaust, after World War II.”

“Israel when it was developed finally gave my family a home, and it hits really hard that there was a place that finally accepted us,” he said. “I kind of want to show the world that wherever sports are involved, Jewish people and Israeli athletics should be at the table as well."

He's taking part in 10 races around the world this year. He spends six days a week working out and practicing, but only about three minutes every day is spent on a sled.

"Doing it for my country, my flag, my people,” Spiliopoulos said. “We've never been to the Olympics in bobsled before, and I think having that drive to carry my entire country on my back to push us to our first-ever berth in the Olympics is just something special, it's unmatched.”

Ahead of the Olympic qualifiers, Spiliopoulos and his team will take part in races around the world, starting in March with the North America Cup in Lake Placid, New York.

“We deserve a seat at the table,” he said. “If not, we'll have to build our own table."

He has set up a fundraiser to help his team reach the Olympic qualifiers. 

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