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Jan
18
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Fenlator and Evans gain momentum towards worlds with bronze medal finish in Igls
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Jan 18, 2013,
9:19 AM ET
Contact: Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Director
(518) 354-2250, abird@usbsf.com
Fenlator and Evans gain momentum towards worlds with bronze medal finish in Igls
IGLS, Austria (Jan. 18, 2013)- Jazmine Fenlator (Wayne, N.J.) and Aja Evans (Chicago, Ill.) moved up one spot in the women’s bobsled final heat to claim bronze today in the Igls World Cup race. Fenlator started the season with her first World Cup career medal, silver, in Lake Placid, N.Y., while this is Evans’ first-ever medal finish.
“I’ve been struggling to get it together over the last few weeks,” Fenlator said. “Last week I was battling a stomach virus and blew out my back, and just thought, ‘when it rains, it pours.’ I was able to come into this race with a fresh mind and go back to how I was thinking earlier this season when I was sliding more successfully."
The gap between first and fourth place after the first heat was so small that pilots needed perfect second runs to either maintain position or move into the medals. Fenlator and Evans had superb velocity at the start with a push time of 5.61 seconds to give the USA Bobsled & Skeleton Foundation sled momentum down the course. Fenlator piloted the team to the finish just 0.01 seconds from medal position.
“Aja really helped me stay calm,” Fenlator said. “She’s a great support, and pushed some fast times today. She hadn’t been on the podium yet, so I was eager to get her there.”
Ready to strike for the podium, Fenlator and rookie standout Evans bettered their start time by 0.03 seconds. Fenlator’s run was nearly flawless, and the duo crossed the finish line with a combined time of 1:48.70 to move up into bronze medal position.
“This was really a team effort,” Fenlator said. “Whether you’re a coach, an alternate or competing, we’re in this together. When I’m on the podium, they are all on the podium with me. I think this gives all of us momentum going into world championships next week.”
German Sandra Kiriasis is only the second pilot to break Canadian Kaillie Humphrie’s winning streak this season. Kiriasis was victorious for the first time in two years today with a total time of 1:48.65. It was rookie brakeman Franziska Bertels’ first career gold medal.
Humphries and Chelsea Valois were in the lead after the first run, but fell back to the Germans by a mere 0.01 seconds to claim silver with a two-run total of 1:48.66.
Dynamic duo Elana Meyers (Douglasville, Ga.) and Katie Eberling (Palos Hills, Ill.) clocked blistering start times of 5.55 seconds in both heats. Meyers had some trouble navigating the KOA sled out of the 360-degree Kreisel corner in the first run, but made up enough time in the final heat to move the team up three spots into fifth with a total time of 1:49.21.
Jamie Greubel (Newtown, Pa.) sustained a minor injury earlier in the week and had some difficulty loading into the sled in the first heat. Greubel and Emily Azevedo (Chico, Calif.) raced the Sliding for Hope sled to the finish in 1:49.50 for ninth place.
The Igls World Cup continues tomorrow with the men’s skeleton competition at 9 a.m. local time, followed by the men’s two-man bobsled race at 12 pm. The team competition will also take place at 3:30 p.m.
Please contact Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Director, at abird@usbsf.com or 518-354-2250 with media inquiries.
Results:
1. Sandra Kiriasis and Franziska Bertels (GER) 1:48.65 (54.28, 54.37); 2. Kaillie Humphries and Chelsea Valois (CAN) 1:48.66 (54.20, 54.46); 3. Jazmine Fenlator and Aja Evans (USA) 1:48.70 (54.37, 54.33);…5. Elana Meyers and Katie Eberling (USA) 1:49.21 (54.67, 54.54);…9. Jamie Greubel and Emily Azevedo (USA) 1:49.50 (54.74, 54.76);
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, WIDIA, Vivat!, Global Forwarding, KBC Helmets, Azad Watches, Latta USA, 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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