KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
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A Lee's Summit native achieved his Olympic dreams as he made his bobsledding debut at the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Cortina.
KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis first met Caleb Furnell in December before he left for Europe.
Furnell, who attended Lee's Summit West High School, took the Opening Ceremony stage with Team USA as his mother and his former track and field coach watched proudly from Lee's Summit. His mother, Margene Furnell, is a teacher at Lee's Summit High School.
"There he is! We saw him!" Margene Furnell said through tears as she watched her son's official Olympic debut.
Margene Furnell said her son has always pursued his goals with determination.
"He will put it all out there every time, that's him," she said.
Furnell is a member of the four-man bobsled team, but he actually started as a highly competitive track and field athlete. He was coached by Michael Shortino at Lee's Summit West, who watched the ceremony with Olympic gear to support his former student.
"The fact that he's representing USA is awesome. There's a little part of Lee's Summit West there too, which really makes me proud," Shortino said.
"I texted him last night, this is just another day where dreams come true," Margene Furnell said.
She believes none of it is coincidence — her son was born to run, jump and bobsled toward his dreams.
Bobsledding combines explosive sprinting with iron-forged strength as blades meet the track in a launch that sends athletes hurtling down the ice at incredible speeds. The race takes about 60 seconds at 85 mph.
Furnell's position is in the back, where he is responsible for the sprint and the push.
"My head is between my knees, just staring at the bottom," Furnell said of how he is folded in half during the ride.
His goal during the run is to stay as still as possible, and at the very end, he is the one who pulls the brake.
As a track and field athlete, Furnell became a state high jump champion. Despite suffering a broken leg in high school, Furnell rebounded to play soccer and continue in track and field.
The Lee's Summit West grad said bobsledding wasn't originally part of the plan.
"I finished my track and field career at Utah Valley," he said. "I didn't do anything for a couple of months, thought I was done with athletics."
Then a phone call from a friend changed everything for Furnell.
"My friend called me up, and was like, 'Hey, there's a combine for bobsled. You should come out,'" Furnell recalled. "And I was like, 'Okay, sure.' The day before, no prep, went and did it. Turned out pretty well."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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