Now in his 11th season with the United States bobsled team and eighth as a driver, Frank Del Duca of Bethel is about to compete in his second Winter Olympics.

But when the Telstar High and University of Maine graduate was first establishing himself as a driver, funding his athletic pursuit was becoming a huge barrier to advancement.

“Bobsled is very expensive,” said Del Duca, 34. “When I started driving, I sold a dream car of mine that I had brought back to life to pay for half the cost of a used set of bobsled runners.”

Del Duca got about $4,500 for his 2002 Audi TT with a six-speed manual transmission. He didn’t have much left to sell, little income coming in, and the cost of runners (multiple sets) was just the beginning of his bobsled bills.

That’s when Del Duca and the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program came together. Del Duca knew of the program and was interested. Several family members have served in the Army or other military branches. It turned out the Army had also heard of Del Duca.

In August of 2019, Del Duca enlisted. He is now a sergeant, remote stationed at the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center along with a small number of other WCAP soldier-athletes and assigned to the Army bobsled team.

Del Duca said his Army training has helped him learn to perform under pressure and execute objectives. From a financial perspective, the WCAP has been essential, especially when he was on the North American Cup tour honing his skills.

Only the top driver is funded by Team USA. Del Duca has that advantage now, but for his first three years in the Army, his paychecks went to his bobsled career — “All of it,” Del Duca said.

“Without that support, without having a consistent income, I would not be doing bobsled,” Del Duca said.

The combination of military service and Del Duca’s Italian heritage have led to a special honor.

Del Duca and fellow WCAP soldier athlete Erin Jackson, a 2022 gold medalist in speedskating, will be the flag bearers for the U.S. team when it enters the opening ceremonies on Friday in Milan, Italy. The Olympics conclude Sunday, Feb. 22.

“There is no greater honor than leading Team USA into the opening ceremony at an Italian Olympics,” Del Duca told the Press Herald. “It feels like a bridge between my family’s heritage and the country I’m so proud to serve.”

The bobsled competition will take place in Cortina d’Ampezzo at the rebuilt 1,445-meter, 16-turn Cortina Sliding Centre, located about 255 miles from Milan (equivalent to a trip from Del Duca’s hometown of Bethel to Houlton).

Del Duca’s two-man team has a chance to reach the medal podium — if it can crack the formidable trio of German teams who are ranked 1-2-3 in the World Cup standings and have won 20 of the 21 medals over seven World Cup races leading up to the Olympics. Del Duca is ranked No. 4. His best finish this season is fourth. His worst is seventh.

Del Duca’s four-man team is ranked 23rd. The team has been beset with injuries and lineup changes, making it difficult to coordinate a top-level start.

World Cup events consist of two runs and decided by combined time. Less than a second often separates first place from 15th. The Olympic events will have four runs.

The two-man competition will be Feb. 15-16, with two runs each day. The four-man event will be Feb. 21-22.

At the 2022 Winter Games, Del Duca drove to 13th place in both the two- and four-man competitions.

Since the last Olympics, Del Duca and his wife, Haley, who live in Saranac Lake, New York, have welcomed sons Sebastian and Lorenzo to their family. Del Duca is now the oldest male on the U.S. bobsled team.

Don’t expect Del Duca to call it quits any time soon.

“I will do this for as long as I can do so competitively, because there will never be a day when I don’t want to race bobsleds.”