WINK News’ Rich Kolko's Olympic legacy: Athlete, coach, and security expert

WINK News safety and security analyst, Rich Kolko, has experienced the Olympics from nearly every angle, transitioning from spectator to athlete, coach, and even security personnel.

His journey began with the iconic "Miracle on Ice," the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey victory over the Soviet Union, which inspired him as a 19-year-old to become part of the Olympic world.

"I came up with three sports that I thought I could do, team handball in the summer, bobsled in the winter, and luge in the winter," said Kolko.

Luge, the fastest sport in the Winter Olympics, became Kolko's best chance at making the team.

"And I raced full time, for, I think, six full seasons, seven full seasons, until I headed off to the Navy," said Kolko.

Kolko reflected on his Olympic aspirations.

"I think about it every day. You know, I think I would have had a really good chance to make the 1988 team. I don't want to be, ‘Would have, could have,’ but had we continued competing at that level, we would have been very competitive to make the '88 team."

Though his Olympic dreams as an athlete came to an end, Kolko went on to coach the Puerto Rican luge and bobsled teams for several Winter Olympics.

"We had some real good athletes and did as well as we could,” said Kolko. “What it comes down to in bobsled or luge is the number of runs you take, just the reps that you get.”

Kolko praised the dedication of his athletes.

"The men on the team did a great job, worked hard and did themselves and did Puerto Rico proud," he said.

After attending the Winter Olympics in Canada, France, and Norway, Kolko was ready for the 1998 games in Japan.

However, his son was due to be born in February of that year. He made a last-minute decision to stay home.

"I said, ‘I don't want to get caught on the other side of the planet when my son was born.’ So right at the last minute, I contacted the team and said, ‘I'm just not gonna be able to make it,’" Kolko said.

His favorite Olympic memory remains the opening ceremony in Calgary in 1988.

"I just had the opportunity to interact. Act and speak to and shake hands and take pictures with all the people that were participating in the Olympics from all the different countries. It was a fascinating hour or two of chatting with all these people. I had a great time," said Kolko.

After his coaching career, Kolko worked with the FBI at several Olympic Games, including the 2004 games in Athens, the 2008 games in Beijing and the 2010 games in Vancouver, Canada. He also helped investigate the deadly Centennial Olympic Park bombing during the Summer Olympics in 1996.

Kolko said he and a luge friend from the '80s plan to attend the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.