Meg Stone and student Michael Davis

Perhaps in an unlikely location, the next world champions in bobsled or canoe and kayak train right here in east Tennessee. Two-time Olympian and Carter County resident Meg Stone visited the Elizabethton Kiwanis Club on June 5 to share how their program and facilities are preparing Olympic athletes and local students.

Out of about 18 Olympic training sites in the country, the ETSU Olympic Center is the only one that trains athletes in bobsled and canoe and kayak. In addition, Stone and her husband Dr. Mike Stone teach strength training and general conditioning. Dr. Stone is the Graduate Program Coordinator in the Sport Science Department at ETSU, so they work closely with ETSU students, and national and international athletes.

“Our goal is to expand the capacity and capabilities of the US to host world class competitions and possibly Olympic trials,” she said. “Through sports, you can really grow as a person, and that’s what we’re trying to do as a training site is get people to be active and involved.”

In addition to bobsled and canoe and kayak, they train athletes in golf as well as track and field. Stone said they provide medical services, transportation, and host feeder program training days.

Stone holds the current NCAA Outdoor Track and Field record in shot put. She is the Director of East Tennessee State University Sports Performance Enhancement Consortium, the Director of the Center of Excellence for Coach Education, and Assistant Coach for Men’s and Women’s Track and Field at ETSU.