BETHEL — Frankie Del Duca is the same as all of us. He is human, he also has his own hobbies. Some of his hobbies are working on Electric scooters, video games and just hanging out with his wife. Frankie graduated high school from Telstar in 2009. Some of the sports he played were soccer, track, and Alpine skiing. I told him about the records he still has here for track and soccer. He was surprised that they were still up there. Frankie said, “I hope that my record is beaten.” I think that really shows you how great Frankie is. He doesn’t really care about keeping the record as much as he wants others to do well. He wishes people can do better.
When Frankie started at the University of New England in Biddeford. He was a walk-on track athlete which means never knowing the coaches and not being recruited by the school to compete for them. Typically, colleges and universities have very few spots on their team for walk-ons, but Frankie made the team. What got Frankie doing bobsledding in the first place was
him going to a tryout camp in New York. He thought it was a great opportunity because it was free and one of his track coaches really encouraged him to try it.
Frankie competed in the Beijing Winter Olympics in the two-man and four-man bobsled events. He was the driver for both of those events, which is impressive because this is his first year of driving in the Olympics. A cool fact he said was “you don’t hit your prime driving until six to eight years [in].” He placed 13th in both events. It was nice to see him represent the U.S.A. Here at school, we watched him race on TV in the hallways and classrooms and all of Telstar was cheering him on.
Frankie came back to Telstar on March 4 of this year for a bobsledding derby. It was a big hit! My friend and I made a bobsled, and it was a great experience to meet Frankie. He was a really nice man and cool to hang out with. He told us that he has electric scooters. That is one thing he really loves to do in the summer when he is not bobsledding. We had kids from all over.
Some students even came from Dirigo who made their own bobsled out of wood. Most of the people had cardboard sleds because that is what the rules were. There were kids ages 2 to 16. There was a campfire and food. Everyone loved it. Let’s thank the Telstar PTA for the event. I hope they do it again next year!
Frankie DelDuca is a motor and speed enthusiast, a Telstar alum, record holder, well-rounded athlete, and an Olympian. Telstar loves to watch Frankie and hopes he does well in his upcoming bobsledding events. He makes Telstar Proud.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
