Todd Hays
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| Full name | Todd Dennys Hays | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 21, 1969 (age 54) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Todd Dennys Hays (born May 21, 1969) is a former
He also won two medals in the four-man event at the
Hays was raised in Del Rio, Texas. Prior to his bobsleigh career, Hays also was involved in American football and kickboxing. This included playing linebacker for the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma for which he was part of the team that defeated San Diego State University in the Freedom Bowl in 1991. He also is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.[3] Hays played two seasons with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League before switching to kickboxing where he became national champion in 1993.
He competed in the 1995 Vale Tudo Freestyle Fighting Championship in Japan. Winning his first bout against Koichiro Kimura via submission, Hays was set to face Rickson Gracie in his second fight of the tournament. However, he had sustained an injury to his shoulder which caused him to decide to leave the tournament. Todd is featured in the film Choke: Rickson Gracie, a documentary of the Brazilian fighter's preparation for the 1995 Vale Tudo tournament. In it, he explains how he had chosen to enter the tournament in Japan and fight under this rule set to make money, as he wanted to be able to finance his true dream; to compete in the Olympics as a bobsledder.
Hays retired from bobsleigh after the
Subsequently, Hays became a bobsleigh coach, working with
References
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Todd Hays Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
- ^ United States Olympic Committee. May 27, 2011. Archived from the originalon January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ^ "Pikes.org - Prominent Pikes". www.pikes.org. Archived from the original on February 2, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ^ Tim Reynolds, "Former TU footballer-turned bobsledder Hays to seek further injury evaluation", AP in Tulsa World, December 15, 2009.
- NBCSports.com. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- NBCSports.com. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ^ Olivero, Antonio (January 28, 2017). "Uphill push to Olympics". Adirondack Daily Enterprise. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
External links
- Bobsleigh four-man Olympic medalists for 1924, 1932–56, and since 1964 Archived March 23, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
- Bobsleigh four-man world championship medalists since 1930
- DatabaseOlympics.com profile
- Hays Forced into Retirement After Crash. at the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (December 15, 2009 article accessed December 15, 2009.)
- Todd Hays at the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing
- James Hom story on Hays
- List of combined men's bobsleigh World Cup champions: 1985–2007
- List of four-man bobsleigh World Cup champions since 1985
- List of two-man bobsleigh World Cup champions since 1985
- MSNBC.com story on Hays' retirement
- United States Olympic Committee profile Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- Professional MMA record for Todd Hays from Sherdog
