Dressed in a Team USA sweatshirt, Frank Del Duca Sr. stood at the grill frying eggs, pancakes and home fries at Crossroads Diner in Bethel on Jan. 20, the day after his son earned a position piloting the USA-1 four-man bobsled for the U.S. Olympic team.

Frank Del Duca Jr., 34, ranks fourth in the World Cup standings and is all but certain to be chosen as a two-man sled driver as well.

His teammates in the four-man sled for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, Italy, are Josh Williamson, Boone Niederhofer and Bryan Sosoo.

This will be his second Olympic appearance; he finished 13th at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.

“This team — who knows what they are going to pull off? Del Duca Sr. said. “They have American grit, American spirit. A bunch of cowboys, they get things done.”

Customers at the diner were also beaming with pride for their hometown hero.

“Imagine if he comes home with a medal? He’s worked hard for this,” said Randall Probert, of Bethel, who was seated at a table with diner regular Bob Buker, of Rumford.

“He’s done fantastic. I’ve known him since he was this high,” Buker said, gesturing.

Buker said Del Duca Jr. once worked at the diner.

“He used to work right here. You’ve seen them Italians flip the pizza? Frankie was fantastic at flipping those pizzas. It’s just something he didn’t want to do,” he said.

On Feb. 4, Del Duca Sr. will host a gathering for supporters at 4 p.m. at Frank’s Bar and Grille at Sunday River ski resort in Newry. He said there will be hors d’oeuvres and a bar, and he plans to try to FaceTime his son during the event.

A few days later, Del Duca Sr. and his wife, Carole, will travel to Milan with their daughter-in-law, Haley, grandchildren Sebastian and Lorenzo, and other family members, departing from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to watch the Olympic Games.

The games, Del Duca Sr. said, will be an unforgettable international experience for the team.

“When these kids are all together, and you watch them interacting — 30 nations interacting with each other — it’s a beautiful conversation,” Del Duca Sr. said. “They support each other, yet they compete with each other.”

The Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina begin Feb. 6. Del Duca Jr.’s four-man race is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. EST).

Staff Writer Scott Martin contributed to this report.