‘Coolest Runnings’: Flavor Flav Pumped to Be Official Hype Man for U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Teams at 2026 Winter Olympics

28 Oct at 15:46

Flavor Flav Named Official Hype Man and Sponsor for USA Bobsled & Skeleton

Updated Oct. 27, 2025

Flavor Flav outside the Aquatics Center at the Paris 2024 Olympics — Flavor Flav, longtime Public Enemy hype man, poses outside the Aquatics Center before the U.S. women’s water polo team’s opening match against Greece at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 27, 2024. Jessica Koscielniak/The Washington Post via Getty Images

It’s almost Winter Olympics season — and once again Flavor Flav is staking out a prominent role. The 66-year-old entertainer has been announced as an official sponsor and hype man for USA Bobsled & Skeleton, the Associated Press reported on Oct. 27, 2025.

Celebrating the new partnership, Flav quipped that the collaboration was “cooler than Cool Runnings,” jokingly dubbing it “Coolest Runnings.” In the announcement and accompanying footage, he appears in Team USA apparel and enthusiastically proclaims his support for the sliding teams.
(Source: Associated Press.)

Flav recently traveled to Park City, Utah, to spend time with the athletes. Video shows him taking a bobsled run — reaching about 67 mph on his second descent — and expressing interest in trying skeleton, the single-run discipline in which racers speed headfirst down the track.

In the announcement USA Bobsled & Skeleton CEO Aron McGuire said the organization is “thrilled to welcome Flavor Flav” and praised his passion and positive energy, noting that his enthusiasm mirrors the grit and pride of the team.

Although coaches initially urged Flav to begin from a lower start for safety, he insisted on moving higher up the track. After his run he could be heard cheering — a reaction teammates described as contagious and uplifting.

U.S. skeleton athlete Dan Barefoot called Flav “one of the coolest, most adventurous men I’ve ever met,” adding that the rapper’s presence has brought a surge of camaraderie and excitement to the training environment.

Flav is expected to accompany the team at the XXV Olympic Winter Games in Milan–Cortina, scheduled for Feb. 6–22, 2026. He has already been an active Olympic supporter: during the 2024 Paris Games he backed the U.S. women’s water polo team financially, offered prizes such as cruises, and provided direct support to individual athletes. He has also expressed interest in serving as a torchbearer for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Beyond the track, Flav has shared his personal phone number with several athletes and invited teammates to social outings; recent clips on his Instagram show him watching practices, posing with team members and racing down the course in both bobsled and skeleton runs. See his posts on Instagram: announcement reel, practice footage, bobsled run, and skeleton clip.