Flavor Flav joins US bobsled team as sponsor, hype man for 2026 Winter Games

Rapper Flavor Flav is bringing his signature energy to winter sports, securing a role as the official sponsor and hype man for the U.S. bobsled and skeleton team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Rolling Stone reported.

Flav’s appearance will mark the second Olympic partnership for the Public Enemy co-founder and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, who previously hyped up the U.S. women’s water polo team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the report said.

“The partnership is a blessing… It’s cooler than Cool Runnings. It’s Coolest Runnings,” Flav told The Associated Press — dropping a callback to the 1993 film about the Jamaican bobsleigh team’s 1988 Olympic debut.

According to Rolling Stone, prior to the announcement, Flav visited the Olympic track in Park City, Utah, where he tried skeleton — the headfirst sliding sport — for the first time

Flav’s presence has already had an impact on the team, according to U.S. skeleton athlete Dan Barefoot.

“We have all been so hyped to have him with us,” Barefoot told AP. “Put aside the fact that Flav is one of the greatest hype men of all time, the energy in the room… you had people who often aren’t talking to each other high-fiving and hugging because of the experience of being around him. There’s a lot of energy and a lot of confidence around us right now.”

During the 2024 Olympics, Flav went viral when photos circulated of him wearing patriotic versions of his iconic clock necklace while dressed in Team USA gear.

“If everything goes well, I’ll be doing this for the next five years into the next Olympics,” he told Rolling Stone in 2024, adding, “I might even do it for another five.”

Flav won’t be the only beloved hip-hop performer to appear at the 2026 Winter Olympics, as rapper Snoop Dogg is set to reprise his role as a special correspondent for the games, NBC Sports announced last month.