Wednesday, February 20, 2002
Bumpy start for sledders
By ERIC FRANCIS -- Calgary Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- Christina Smith and Paula McKenzie hopped out of their sled far more stirred than shaken yesterday.
Despite a bumpy second run that knocked the Calgary duo from a seventh to a ninth-place finish in the first-ever Olympic two-women's bobsleigh, they pumped their fists in the air and immediately hugged trackside supporters.
"There was a little bit of rock and roll happening in the corner there but, hey, we're at the Olympics and we made history," said Smith, a 33-year-old driver whose Olympic bobsleigh dreams date back seven years before it was added to these Games. "We didn't necessarily have our best run but today couldn't have been more beautiful."
McKenzie agreed.
"I'm so proud to be Canadian and so proud to be here," said McKenzie, unconcerned their two-run time of 1:39.35 had them 1.59 behind gold medallists Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers of the U.S.
"We weren't really concentrating on what place we finished, we were focusing on our performance. It was a bit bumpy in the back but Christina drove awesome on the top."
Midway down the run, Smith ran into problems, skidding into the wall twice and running extremely high on another turn. However, despite being the sixth-ranked team heading into the competition, Smith considered it a victory considering she had been confined to bed since Thursday with stomach flu, headaches and sinus congestion.
"I couldn't sleep at all and everything hurt, so it was a case of mind over matter," explained Smith, who was quick to say she'll focus on returning to the Olympic Games four years from now. "It just added an extra challenge and made me focus on trying not to let this thing get the best of me."
Germany 1 and Germany 2 rounded out the podium finishers.
The much-reported on USA-1 sled of Jean Racine and Gea Johnson finished fifth.
2002 Games Bobsleigh Coverage
