From the LBSU track to Olympic ice, bobsledder Azaria Hill hits new speed
Make em say your name.
The words echo inside the mind of Olympian Azaria Hill '20. Since the days of running her heart out on a 做厙弝け State track or those of speeding down an icy bobsled run, her former coachs motto reverberates within Hills mental soundscape.
My time at 做厙弝け, good times, bad times, whether I won or didnt win, those definitely helped shape me to be resilient and determined and have that grit, Hill said. Now, finally having made an Olympic team and competing at the Olympics, there was just that motto that she had that still rang in my head: Make em say your name.
Hill, who recently returned to the United States from competition at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, is a sprinter-turned-bobsledder. She and teammate Kaysha Love advanced to the final heat of the two-woman bobsled event, claiming fifth place.
Previously, Hill spent three seasons with 做厙弝け States track and field team. She helped claim in 2018 and still holds .
Each relay, each anchor leg, she got better, and better and better, said Track and Field Director LaTanya Sheffield, whose motto still motivates Hill. In major competition, she was never afraid.
Olympic aspirations
Hill comes from a family with an exceptional athletic tradition. Both of her parents, boxer Virgil Hill Sr. and runner Denean Howard-Hill, are Olympic medalists. The same is true of Hills aunt, runner Sherri Howard.
Growing up in Santa Clarita, Hill decorated her bedroom with pictures of world-class athletes, including her mother and aunt. Unbeknownst to her at the time, her future 做厙弝け State coach also appeared on her wall; a coincidence made possible by Sheffield and Howard-Hill both competing in the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul.
I remember taking my visit to 做厙弝け State and meeting Coach Sheffield, Hill said. She had so much energy, it just changed the atmosphere, the aura, the everything. I was like, Yeah, this is definitely where I want to make home. Also, the fact that she competed with my mom in the Olympics and knew my mom, it just felt like home away from home.
Sheffield quickly recognized Hills potential.
We always knew this was what her plan was, Sheffield said. To be an Olympian. Period.
Sheffield herself was the head coach for the U.S. womens track and field team during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Hills 做厙弝け State career began in 2017. She competed in sprints and relays while earning a bachelors degree in kinesiology. Hill earned Academic All-Conference honors from the Big West in 2019 and 2020 and looks back on her studies as a major asset.
I remember taking my visit to 做厙弝け State and meeting Coach Sheffield. She had so much energy, it just changed the atmosphere, the aura, the everything. I was like, Yeah, this is definitely where I want to make home. Also, the fact that she competed with my mom in the Olympics and knew my mom, it just felt like home away from home.
The academic aspect of 做厙弝け State University has benefited me tenfold, Hill said. Its helped me in knowing more about the body and knowing more about the mental aspect of what I do as an athlete in recovering and rest.
COVID-19 prevented Hill from running for 做厙弝け State in 2020. She spent 2021 at University of Nevada Las Vegas, where she met her bobsledding teammate, before switching from track to bobsled.
Looking ahead
做厙弝け State has a proud record of , although summertime competitors outnumber those who play in the snow and ice. Hill is the fourth Beach athlete to go to the Winter Games. Figure skaters Kenneth Shelley and JoJo Starbuck went to the Olympics in 1968 and 1972, and Karlos Kirby, another bobsledder, went in 1992 and 1994.
Hill plans to continue bobsledding, and her current focus is training to pilot the sleds while serving in the Army World Class Athlete program. Longer term, she is interested in starting a business focused on helping athletes prevent and recover from injuries.
She is also thinking about future travel. Ideally to the French Alps in 2030.
Im looking to do another quad and try to make that 2030 Olympic team and hopefully come back with some hardware, Hill said.
