USA Bobsled and Skeleton
Contact: Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Director
(518) 354-2250, abird@usbsf.com
World Cup action continues on Friday in Whistler
WHISTLER, British Columbia (Nov. 20, 2012)- Bobsled and skeleton World Cup action continues on the 2010 Olympic track in Whistler, British Columbia this week. Competitions will take place from Nov. 23-24, and U.S. athletes are favorites for gold in all five disciplines.
The detailed schedule is as follows, with all times listed in PST:
Friday, Nov. 23
9 a.m. – Women’s skeleton race heat #1
10:30 a.m. – Women’s skeleton race heat #2
3 p.m.– Men’s two-man bobsled race heat #1
4:30 p.m. – Men’s two-man bobsled race heat #2
6:30 p.m.-Women’s bobsled race heat #1
8 p.m.- Women’s bobsled race heat #2
Saturday, Nov. 24
9 a.m. – Men’s four-man bobsled race heat #1
10 a.m. – Men’s four-man bobsled race heat #2
3 p.m. – Men’s skeleton race heat #1
4:30 p.m.- Men’s skeleton race heat #2
Reigning World Champion Katie Uhlaender (Breckenridge, Colo.) is back on track after winning the Park City, Utah event and is expected to have a repeat performance. Noelle Pikus-Pace (Orem, Utah) will make her return to the World Cup circuit this Friday and hopes to kick start her comeback with a medal.
Matt Antoine (Prairie du Chien, Wisc.), John Daly (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Kyle Tress (Ewing, N.J.) have posted strong performances this season that include personal best finishes. The men’s team has a history of success on the Whistler track and will be eager to crack into the medals this weekend.
The women’s bobsled coaching staff continues to experiment with the driver and brakeman combinations this weekend. Elana Meyers (Douglasville, Ga.) will team with Lolo Jones (Des Moines, Iowa) in the KOA sled. Meyers won the 2010 Olympic bronze medal as a brakeman, and will compete on the course for the first time as a pilot. Jazmine Fenlator (Wayne, N.J.) will get a push from Katie Eberling (Palos Hills, Ill.) in the U.S. Bobsled & Skeleton Foundation sled, while Jamie Greubel (Newtown, Pa.) and Emily Azevedo (Chico, Calif.) will pair together in the Sliding for Hope sled.
Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah) and his powerful push team of Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.), Justin Olsen (San Antonio, Texas) and Curt Tomasevicz (Shelby, Neb.) hope to ride the BMW four-man sled to victory after two consecutive silver medal performances this season. Holcomb will again pair with Langton in the Under Armour sled for the two-man event.
Soldier-athletes Nick Cunningham (Monterey, Calif.) and Chris Fogt (Alpine, Utah) will partner together in the National Guard two-man sled on Friday, and will be joined by Adam Clark (Owenton, Ky.) and Andreas Drbal (Belmont, Calif.) in the WIDIA four-man sled. Cunningham’s team has consistently posted some of the top push times in the four-man event, and is expected to clock big numbers again this weekend.
Cory Butner (Yucaipa, Calif.) will team with veteran Johnny Quinn (McKinney, Texas) in the two-man Autism Speaks bobsled. Butner has earned double silver medals this season and has quickly emerged as a favorite for the podium. Butner, Quinn, Jesse Beckom (Chicago, Ill.) and Nic Taylor (Hayward, Calif.) will look to improve the performance of USA-3 in the Sliding2Sochi four-man sled.
You can watch the events live by tuning into Universal Sports, or by visiting the FIBT youtube channel.
The European Cup also continues this week with races in Winterberg, Germany. Athletes in all disciplines will compete from Nov. 21-24. 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.
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