WebProNews

Tag: bobsled

  • Lolo Jones: Can She Pull It Off?

    Now that Lolo Jones has succeeded in getting herself a spot as a brakeman on this season’s US Women’s bobsled team, the question becomes, will she be able to hang on to it?

    The spot means that she is eligible to make the Sochi team in February, but for one reason or another, bobsled politics are notoriously controversial, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

    The question is: Should you choose the biggest, baddest brakeman or the one with the best working relationship with the pilot. The answer is one that the US is famous for getting wrong. Jones is a powerful, elite athlete with a record to back it up, but does she have what it takes to be like one with her pilot?

    Elana Myers, a medal favorite for Sochi and driver of the USA-1 sled, agrees that a pilot and brakeman need to be on the same page.

    “A great brakeman knows what I need before I need it,” she said at a media summit earlier this month. “Sometimes it is difficult.”

    She has that connection with veterans Aja Evans and Katie Eberling, she said. But as a former brakeman herself, she understands that new brakemen need an opportunity to break through. “As a brakeman, you want that opportunity.”

    However, does the chance of that opportunity come at the cost of valuable familiarity? This seems to be something that the US teams are continually lacking.

    “Crew familiarity is something that has always escaped USA Bobsled,” said pilot Steven Holcomb, and Olympic gold medalist, at the media summit.

    Someone might have better measureables, like push times, sprint speeds, etc., but on the track the team has to be seamless unit, and that comes only from familiarity and experience, Holcomb suggested.

    “You go to war with these guys,” he said. “Any sort of hesitation can cost a medal.”

    Can Lolo pull it off? We shall see…

    Image via youtube

  • Lolo Jones Makes U.S. Bobsled National Team

    You may recognize the name Lolo Jones from her days as an Olympic track star. But now, the popular athlete, is officially one of nine females to make the U.S. Bobsled National Team. The qualification means that she has a good shot at making the U.S. Olympic team for the games in Sochi, Russia this winter.

    We’ve witnessed many a great athlete, think Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson, possess the skill set to compete in multiple sports. According to veteran bobsled champion, Elana Meyers, most athletes who transition over to bobsledding, do in fact, come from other sporting activities. She explained, “Whenever we bring in new people, we tell them to use their experiences from the previous sport and bring what they already know into our sport. That’s the thing, everybody from our sport comes from a different sport. Nobody grows up bobsledding.”

    Jones even recruited fellow track-star and Olympic Gold Medalist Sprinter, Lauryn Williams, to join her on attempting to make the Olympic team. It didn’t seem to matter that Williams had never even touched a bobsled until four months ago. Within a week of practice, Williams placed third in the National Push Championships. And now we’re talking about the distinct possibility that we will see Williams racing amongst the best bobsledders in the world at this winter’s Olympic games.

    Lolo Jones was the favorite to win the 100-meter hurdles at the Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008. In fact, she had become the sweetheart story in America. Lolo overcame great obstacles, poverty and depression, and rose above it all to go after an Olympic dream. The race started and Jones was in the lead, however, she tripped on the second to last hurdle and fell to seventh place.

    Here’s a look at the heartbreaking race:

    Still, Jones is the current American record holder in the 60-meter hurdles and has won multiple Gold Medals at the World Indoor Championships. Now in her second year of bobsledding, the brakeman will look forward to another shot at possibly bringing home Olympic Gold.

    Image via Facebook

  • Lolo Jones To Become Bobsled Champion

    Lolo Jones To Become Bobsled Champion

    It’s not unusual for athletes to excel in one sport and then transfer their energies to either learn another sport or diversify themselves within the originating sport. After becoming the name in basketball, Michael Jordan moved onto baseball for a period of time. Michael Phelps competed in multiple swimming competitions.

    So, the recent career switch for the talented Lolo Jones should come as no surprise. Lolo Jones has already competed in the Olympics through the track and field competition where she participated as a 100-meter hurdler in track. She is now competing in the bobsled sport. Her diet has been adjusted to consume 9,000 calories a day in order to gain thirty pounds.

    Lolo Jones understands the need to muscle and as an Olympic hopeful in the bobsled arena. “You’re with the bobsled at the truck and inhaling the smoke fumes from the exhaust pipe, just holding on. It’s a very blue-collar sport. It takes a tough person,” Lolo said.

    Lolo’s past athletic record and prowess has not gone unnoticed. “Transitioning to bobsled, having her speed and power, and also that experience as an elite athlete … she’s at the top of her game in her respective sport. So I think she brought a lot of knowledge and maturity that way and was super open to bobsled,” Jazmine Fenlator said.

    Bobsledding is a unique sport, which usually is not at the forethought of an aspiring athlete’s mind. Most bobsledding athletes have been actively involved in other sports. Elana Meyers, who is a U.S. pilot, explained the strength of this tendency where athletes from all different sports can use their knowledge and skills to advance the sport of bobsledding.

    “Whenever we bring in new people, we tell them to use their experiences from the previous sport and bring what they already know into our sport. That’s the thing, everybody from our sport comes from a different sport. Nobody grows up bobsledding,” Elana Meyers said.

    [Image Via Wikimedia Commons And Courtesy Of Erik van Leeuwen]