© Eric Bolte/Imagn
In order to compete in the sport of skeleton, you have to be a little bit crazy. After all, you’re hurtling down a sheet of ice at over 80 miles per hour first. But Team USA star Mystique Ro takes things to another level.
Ro, who is the reigning world silver medalist in women’s skeleton and the reigning world champion in the mixed team event, competes in the event despite two major impediments.
For one, she’s absolutely terrified of roller coasters, and skeleton is more or less one big, icy roller coaster. But more notably, she’s allergic to ice!
Yes, you read that correctly.
Mystique Ro Explains Crazy Circumstances That Led Her To Skeleton Greatness
Ro, 31, did not compete in the sport at a young age. In fact, she was a track athlete who ran hurdles at Queens College in Charlotte.
But after college, she attended a bobsled tryout hosted by former Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor. While Ro’s height, 5-foot-4, and light weight weren’t ideal for bobsled, they were perfect for skeleton.
“When skeleton presented itself, I was like,‘Give it a shot. Let’s see,” she told the LA Times. “It opened another opportunity for me to just pivot and try something else.”
Except there were some big problems. As a kid, Ro quickly discovered that roller coasters and thrills weren’t for her.
“I was screaming on the way down,” she remembered. “We tried it. It’s not for me.”
Meanwhile, she also has a condition called Cold urticaria, which is an allergy to ice. Although she believes this is a benefit to her in competition.
“It’s a higher incentive to not touch the walls when I’m going 80,” she said.”
It’s hard to argue with that point. But Ro is undoubtedly one of the most unlikely athletes the sport of skeleton has ever seen.