Eric Bernotas

Who is Eric Bernotas?

Eric Bernotas is an American skeleton racer who has competed since 2002. He won three medals at the FIBT World Championships with two silvers and a bronze.

Bernotas competed in two Winter Olympics, earning his best finish of sixth in the men's skeleton event at Turin in 2006.

His best overall seasonal Skeleton World Cup finish was second in the men's event in 2006-7. Bernotas earned a medical waiver to competed in the 2009-10 Skeleton World Cup season following a leg injury suffered during training.

A native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, Bernotas has Tourette syndrome and has suffered through alcoholism and depression.

In February 2006, he appeared on The 700 Club where he talked about being a Christian and how his faith plays into his sports career. He said, "God presented this opportunity to me,” Eric says. “I believe we all have desires and dreams about things we would like to do. I think wonderful things can be done with pursuing our dreams if we allow the Spirit to work within us. When we take the proper steps and do our best to make the right decisions, there’s a purpose behind what we’re doing. Our dreams are just one awesome way to do what we love and at the same time do God’s work."