What they liked the most was the speed, and no wonder — at the fastest point, they can reach up to 85 miles per hour.
Some of them don't speak Spanish, but in their faces, their joy and their mestizo skin, they carry the legacy of the Aztec nation.
They are five brave teenagers who first met on the training track of the Olympic Park in Park City, ready to be part of the first Mexican skeleton team. They're seeking participation in the first edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games, to be held at Innsbruck, Austria, in 2012.
"We were nervous because we didn't know how many children were coming," said Juan Jose Carlos, 32, a Mexican athlete and director of the Mexican Bobsled and Skeleton Foundation, "but this is the kind of young people we want."
Carlos, along with coach Pat Brown, head of Bobsled and Skeleton at the Utah Olympic Foundation, "tested" the young athletes.
After receiving them and explaining to them how to get on the sled, the five participants — Josue Montiel, Emmanuel Alvarez, Mia Mora, Samantha and Jordan Arndt — began to experience their first runs down the mountain.
Taking the sled with their hands, running the first few meters to gain speed, placing themselves upside down on the sled, maintaining an upright body posture, letting the car slide on the rails until it stops, and raising their legs to allow gravity to return the sled back home are only a brief description of the process that the boys and girls each had to undergo.
"After each of the descents, I asked them how they felt and they were all extremely motivated," said Carlos.
"All of them worked to run faster and, really, their times were very good," he said.
Josue, 15, was born in Utah, but his Mexican parents raised him speaking in Spanish and according to their Latino culture.
The young student has practiced soccer for a couple of years. But he never imagined himself being part of an Olympic team, especially for a winter sport on a Mexican team. However, his scores were the highest in the group, which made him distinguishable from the rest.
"Josue has the same times that I had when I started training on this same track," Carlos said. "He is a guy who is very strong.
"We wanted them to feel what the sport is about, because this is the part that may scare them — running, jumping and sliding on the sled. But they all did well, each one of their thrusts was faster than the previous one," said Carlos, a young coach who was the first Mexican to excel in the sport of skeleton.
Like Josue, the rest of the participants had a phenomenal experience, and the five pledged to continue with the training and all the necessary tasks needed to join the Mexican Olympic team.
"Our idea is to train them to go for a medal," said Carlos, who added that to raise money to allow these young athletes to achieve their goals, it will be necessary to involve our entire community.
"We need the support of the Hispanics and from all our community, particularly the owners of restaurants and businesses, are encouraged to be part of our project 'Run Your Bill,' " said Carlos.
The initiative seeks to ally local businesses with the Foundation, to allow customers to round up their check to the next dollar and donate those additional cents to address the needs of the young Olympic team.
"This won't cost anything to the business and we will support them with our media advertising," he explained.
Also, traders who contribute to the initiative will have their companies' logo on the sleds that will participate on the way to the Olympic Games. Also, they will all be eligible to enjoy a week in the five-star Inn at Mazatlan, Sinaloa, which is one of the main sponsors of the Mexican bobsled team.
The contributions will enable the foundation to travel with the young athletes to the Olympic park Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Businesses and other people interested in making contributions to the Foundation can call 801-599-7791 for more information.
e-mail: bnicholson@desnews.com