USA Bobsled and Skeleton
Contact: Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Director
(518) 354-2250, abird@usbsf.com
World Cup tour continues at Utah Olympic Park
PARK CITY, Utah (Nov. 12, 2012)- After a three-year hiatus, the bobsled and skeleton World Cup tour returns to Park City, Utah from Nov. 16-17. The host nation set the bar high by earning six medals in last week’s season opener, and is looking to sweep the medals on the 2002 Olympic track.
The detailed schedule is as follows, with all times listed in MT:
Friday, Nov. 16
9 a.m. – Women’s skeleton race heat #1
10:30 a.m. – Women’s skeleton race Heat #2
1 p.m. – Two-man bobsled race heat #1
2:30 p.m.– Two-Man bobsled race heat #2
5 p.m. – Women’s bobsled race heat #1
6:30 p.m. Women’s bobsled race heat #2
Saturday, Nov. 17
9 a.m. – Men’s skeleton race heat #1
10:30 a.m. – Men’s skeleton race heat #2
1 p.m.-Four-man bobsled race heat #1
2:30 p.m.- Four-man bobsled race heat #2
Katie Uhlaender (Breckenridge, Colo.) medaled in Park City during the 2009 World Cup event and is expected to be a gold medal contender in the women’s skeleton race. Teammate Kimber Gabryszak (Park City, Utah) is a Park City resident and will also be a threat for the medals on her home ice.
John Daly (Smithtown, N.Y.), Kyle Tress (Ewing, N.J.) and Matt Antoine (Prairie du Chien, Wisc.) are a strong trio and have the strongest potential of any competitors to knock Martins and Tomass Dukurs from the leader board in the men’s skeleton race.
The women’s bobsled team is amped after earning two medals last weekend and plan on riding the momentum into Friday night. Jazmine Fenlator (Wayne, N.J.) will race with accomplished veteran Emily Azevedo (Chico, Calif.) in the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Foundation sled. Elana Meyers (Douglasville, Ga.) and rookie standout Aja Evans (Chicago, Ill.) will power the KOA sled off the block and to the finish, while Jamie Greubel (Newtown, Pa.) and world championship medalist Katie Eberling (Palos Hills, Ill.) will partner in the Sliding for Hope sled this week.
Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah) is excited to be home in Utah and hopes to sweep the men’s bobsled races in front of a home crowd. He will race with Curt Tomasevicz (Shelby, Neb.) in the Under Armour sled for Friday’s two-man event. Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.) and Justin Olsen (San Antonio, Texas) will join Holcomb and Tomasevicz in the BMW sled for Saturday’s four-man race.
Cory Butner (Yucaipa, Calif.) and Chuck Berkeley (Walnut Creek, Calif.) shocked the field by earning silver in last week’s two-man season opener, and the duo will again partner in the Autism Speaks sled. Nic Taylor (Hayward, Calif.), Johnny Quinn (McKinney, Texas) and Berkeley are assigned seats in Butner’s Sliding2Sochi four-man sled.
Nick Cunningham (Monterey, Calif.) was the surprise bronze medalist in the first four-man race of the season and will be aiming to climb in rank with his powerhouse crew of Adam Clark (Owenton, Ky.), Andreas Drbal (Belmont, Calif.) and Chris Fogt (Alpine, Utah) in the WIDIA sled. Cunningham placed a disappointing fifth place in last week’s two-man competition, and he hopes to pilot his National Guard sled into the medals with Clark as his brakeman.
The Park City World Cup race is free to attend. There will be a festival at the Utah Olympic Park during both days of racing that includes campfires, face painting, and food vendors selling items like popcorn, cotton candy and smores.
The North American Cup tour also continues this week with races from Nov. 15-17 in Calgary, Canada, while the European Cup kicks off in Igls, Austria from Nov. 14-17. Please contact Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Director, at abird@usbsf.com or 518-354-2250 with media inquiries.
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, Vivat!, Global Forwarding, KBC Helmets, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Autism Speaks, Park City Lodging, EDAS/Ripxx, UberSense, Tesa Tape and Ferris Mfg. Corp. For more information, please visit the USBSF website at http://bobsled.teamusa.org.
###