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

Meyers and Azevedo narrowly miss medals 

KOENIGSSEE, Germany (Jan. 13, 2012)–Elana Meyers (Douglasville, Ga.) and Emily Azevedo (Chico, Calif) tied the Koenigssee start record en route to a fifth place finish in the women’s bobsled World Cup race.  Meyers and Azevedo were in second after the first run, but an experienced field of sliders nudged USA-1 out of medal position in a competitive contest for gold.

“I made some small driving mistakes that I’ll be able to improve on as I progress as a pilot,” Meyers said.  “It’s those mistakes that are the difference between gold and fifth place.  I’m working on it every week and striving to continue my improvement.”

Meyers and Azevedo powered the Kampgrounds of America sled off the block just 0.03 seconds from the start record in the first heat and were in silver medal position with a finish time of 52.30 seconds.  A competitive field of Olympic and World Champions battled for position before USA-1 took to the ice in the final heat, putting the pressure on Meyers and Azevedo to match their efforts.  The pair responded by exploding off the block in 5.25 seconds to tie the start record before Meyers led the sled to the finish in 51.97 seconds.  Despite improving their time by 0.33 seconds, USA-1 fell back into fifth position with a combined time of 1:44.27.

“I’m very happy with how Emily pushed,” Meyers said.  “She’s consistently proved that she’s one of the top brakeman in the world, and I’m so impressed with her ability to create velocity at the start.  I just made enough small mistakes down the course to lose that advantage.  Becoming a great pilot requires experience, especially on a track that’s so technically difficult as this one.”

Germans Cathleen Martini and Berit Wiacker were tough competitors on their home track.  The pair claimed their third consecutive gold medal to sweep the German World Cup races with a combined time of 1:43.56. 

Canadians Kaillie Humphries and Emily Baadsvik tied Swiss athletes Fabienne Meyer and Hanne Schenk for the silver medal after the teams clocked a combined time of 1:44.10.  Two-time Olympic medalist and German legend Sandra Kiriasis finished fourth with a total time of 1:44.16.

“I just focused on putting together two consistent runs, but once I finished the race I was able to put everything into perspective,” Meyers said.  “Finishing one-tenth behind Sandra Kiriasis is a good day for anyone, so I’m really happy with our result.”

Jazmine Fenlator (Wayne, N.J.) and Ingrid Marcum (Elmhurst, Ill.) barely missed the top 10 by 0.15 seconds after posting a combined time of 1:45.33 for 12th place.  Team USA-3 pushed the FDNY sled off the block in 5.42 and 5.45 seconds for runs of 52.74 and 52.59 seconds, respectively.

Bree Schaaf (Bremerton, Wash.) and Katie Eberling (Palos Hills, Ill.) teamed together in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure sled for 15th place.  The pair was consistent off the block with push times of 5.43 and 5.41 seconds, but Schaaf struggled driving through the bendaway and was unable to accelerate down the course.  Schaaf was able to improve by over half a second in the final heat to gain one position with a total time of 1:46.08.

Competitions continue tomorrow with men’s skeleton, men’s two-man bobsled and team races.  For media inquiries, please contact Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Manager, at abird@usbsf.com, or at (518) 354-2250. 

Results:
1. Cathleen Martini and Berit Wiacker (GER) 1:43.56 (51.86, 51.70); 2. Kaillie Humphries and Emily Baadsvik (CAN) 1:44.10 (52.34, 51.76); 2. Fabienne Meyer and Hanne Schenk (SUI) 1:44.10 (52.35, 51.75);…5. Elana Meyers and Emily Azevedo (USA) 1:44.27 (52.30, 51.97);…12. Jazmine Fenlator and Ingrid Marcum (USA) 1:45.33 (52.74, 52.59);…15. Bree Schaaf and Katie Eberling (USA) 1:46.08 (53.27, 52.81);

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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