US bobsled federation reeling from 3-time Olympian Todd Hays’ injury-driven retirement

Bobsledder Hays to seek further injury evaluation

Three-time U.S. bobsled Olympian Todd Hays will meet with a neurologist to evaluate the severity of bleeding in his brain and determine a course of treatment.

Surgery has not been deemed necessary at this point, a positive sign for the 40-year-old from Del Rio, Texas.

Hays retired from bobsledding on Monday after being told what was originally diagnosed as a concussion was actually a condition called intraparenchymal hematoma, otherwise described as bleeding into brain tissue. Doctors told Hays that “additional trauma to a healing brain … may cause irreversible damage” and advised him to stop racing immediately.

With that, his quest for a fourth Olympic team came to a sudden end.