USA Bobsled and Skeleton

Contact: Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Manager
(518) 354-2250, abird@usbsf.com

Schaaf and Azevedo seventh in final World Cup race

CALGARY, Canada (Feb. 10, 2012)– Bree Schaaf (Bremerton, Wash.) and Emily Azevedo (Chico, Calif.) once again led the U.S. women’s bobsled team with a seventh place finish in the World Cup finale tonight.  The 2010 Olympic teammates pieced together two strong runs at the Calgary Olympic Park to complete a trying World Cup season. 

“This season has really tested my love for the sport with so many ups and downs,” Schaaf said.  “It’s been a year of learning and I’ve been honing in on my driving skills. I find myself finally commanding the sled and driving it to where I want in the corners.  They say it takes 10,000 hours to perfect something and we only get roughly 120 seconds a day to practice the sport.  I know it will take years to find myself in command amongst the chaos, but I’m getting there.”

Azevedo has emerged as a top brakeman this season and helped Schaaf, who has been nursing an injured hip all season, push the sled off the block in 5.83 and 5.85 seconds.  USA-1 was in ninth position after the first run, but Schaaf bettered her second run by 0.24 seconds to gain two spots.  The duo clocked a total time of 1:54.56 for seventh.

“Emily did a phenomenal job,” Schaaf said.  “The ice was sticky at the start, but Emily made it happen.  Our last run was a good way to end the season, and I’m really looking forward to competing on one of my favorite tracks in Lake Placid, N.Y. next week for World Championships.”

Schaaf concluded the World Cup season ranked ninth in overall points.  Fellow pilots Elana Meyers and Jazmine Fenlator sacrificed three World Cup races this season for extra training runs on the 2012 and 2013 World Championship tracks, and finished ranked 12th and 14th, respectively, in points.

Kaillie Humphries teamed with Jennifer Ciochetti to sweep the Canadian World Cup races and claimed her third gold medal of the season with a total time of 1:53.28 today.  Germans Anja Schneiderheinze and Lisette Thoene earned silver with a combined time of 1:53.46, while teammates Sandra Kiriasis and Petra Lammert finished third with a two-run total of 1:53.54.

Germans finished 1-2-3 in the overall standings.  Cathleen Martini was only fifth today, but it was enough to secure her first World Cup title.  Schneiderheinze was second overall, while Kiriasis wrapped up the season third in points.

Ida Bernstein (Cockeysville, Md.) made her World Cup debut today with pilot Jamie Greubel (Newtown, Pa.), who is still gaining strength back after knee surgery earlier this season.  Bernstein helped Greubel push off the block in 5.94 and 5.97 seconds.  Greubel bettered their first run by 0.25 seconds with a solid second heat to move up one spot into 12th with a combined time of 1:55.55. 

Megan Hill (Woodstock, Ga.) and Nicole Vogt (Dallas, Texas) finished 16th in only their second World Cup event of their career.  Hill won gold and silver medals in the Calgary America’s Cup races earlier this season, and she piloted the team to respectable finish times of 59.14 and 59.51 seconds against a field of seasoned veterans today. 

The men’s two-man bobsled is up next, and you can check out the action live by visiting www.fibt.com, or watch the events one-day delayed on Universal Sports.  For media inquiries, please contact Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Manager, at abird@usbsf.com, or at (518) 354-2250. 

Results:
1. Kaillie Humphries and Jennifer Ciochetti (CAN) 1:53.28 (56.62, 56.66); 2. Anja Schneiderheinze and Lisette Thoene (GER) 1:53.46 (56.72, 56.74); 3. Sandra Kiriasis and Petra Lammert (GER) 1:53.54 (56.75, 56.79);…7. Bree Schaaf and Emily Azevedo (USA) 1:54.56 (57.40, 57.16);…12. Jamie Greubel and Ida Bernstein (USA) 1:55.55 (57.90, 57.65);…16. Megan Hill and Nicole Vogt (USA) 1:58.65 (59.14, 59.51);

About the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation
The United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. The USBSF would like to thank its sponsors, suppliers and contributors for their support: BMW of North America, Under Armour, United States National Guard, Kampgrounds of America, National Strength and Conditioning Association, Vivat!, Global Forwarding, KBC Helmets, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, EDAS/Ripxx, UberSense, Tesa Tape and Ferris Mfg. Corp. For more information, please visit the USBSF website at http://bobsled.teamusa.org.

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