Women's Bobsleigh - USA Set Stool Out

The atmosphere at the Olympic Sliding Centre had been building towards the start of the Women’s Bobsleigh and it was Korea who took to the track first.

Kim Yoo-ran and Kim Min-seong went off first much to the delight of the home crowd, not a great start and a slower start for the pairing when they had race here previously, but they managed to come down the track and finish in 51.24, which as they were the first team down they set a track record.

Nigeria, a fantastic story of Seun Adigun and Akuoma Omeoga appearing at their first Olympics, were next up and set off 0.08 seconds quicker than the Koreans. There were a few slides and a couple of bumps which culminated in a ragged run and they finished in 52.21 seconds, over one second slower.

Alexandria Rodionova and Yula Belomestnykh for the OAR were up next and after the start were immediately two tenths up on the teams who went before them. There was a slight tap on the wall and they finished their run in 51.29, slower than the Koreans who were still sitting top of the pile after three runs.

Kaillie Humphries was next up going for her third consecutive gold medal at the Olympics. Partnered by Phylicia George she set a 5.29 start, three tenths faster than the previous runs but as the pair hurtled down the track they lost time at the bottom but managed to post a 50.72 time which blitzed the three previous efforts.

Many pundits had tipped that it would be Humphries versus Elana Meyers-Taylor for this gold medal and it was the American with Lauren Gibbs who was next up. Not only did they start well, they set a start record of 5.22 seconds which showed they meant business. The Americans stormed into the lead, be it the sled clashed with the wall in the chicane after turn nine, but a 50.52 time was the one to beat.

Marlama Jamanka and Lisa Buckwitz were next up for Germany and were 5.37 off the start. As they came down the track the gap between them and the Americans began to grow until they crossed the line in 50.54 which wasn’t good enough to take the top spot but still managed to beat Humphries time.

Another American duo were lining up for their run, Jamie Greubel-Poser and Aja Evans who had won bronze in Sochi. They made a quick start, the 3rd quickest so far but as they entered the bottom of the track the timing screen showed they were a tenth down, ultimately finishing in 50.59 putting them into 3rd place overall in heat 1.

Stephanie Schneider and Annika Drazek were next up and became the 4th quickest sled off the start with a 5.35, a little untidy in places but they managed to complete their run in 50.63 seconds just a tenth off the lead. The factor here was that with every sled that came down, Humphries was moving down the order.

Alysia Rissling was next with Heather Moyse and it wasn’t the greatest of starts and were already two tenths down before they made a mistake at turn 13 when they tapped the wall. They finished their run in 50.81 which put the Canadians into 6th.

Anna Kohler and Erline Nolte did not make a great start for Germany, just 7th quickest with a 5.47 and were nearly a second down on the lead as they hit the midway point finishing their run in 51.21.

The top six were very tight in times but a gap had developed after this.

Nadezhda Sergeeva and Anastasia Kocherzhova representing the OAR were next and although making the 4th quickest start they bumped and slid their way down the circuit to put themselves 7th.

Sabina Hafner of Switzerland with her brake-woman Rahel Rebasamen made a very slow start and did not make an impression on the top sleds, this was the same story with the following runs by Christine de Bruin, a surprisingly bad run by Austria’s Christina Hengster and the Belgian duo of Elfje Willemsen and Sara Aerts. The top six looked pretty safe when Katrin Beierl made no impression after a big mistake coming down when she slid out of the chicane.

Next up were Great Britain, Mica McNeill and Mica Moore. The start was not the quickest, 12th overall but McNeill managed to compose herself and as the Britons swooped down the track they crossed the finish line in 50.77 which put them 6th.

No major advances after this run as the Jamaican team put themselves in 15th, with the Romanian duo of Constantin and Grecu placing 12th and the other Belgian sled piloted by Vannieuwehuyse making the slowest start of all.

It’s on to Heat 2 and the pressure is building. Can Humphries make up the time or have the Americans set their stool out very early.

TOP 10 - HEAT 1

1st – USA (Meyers-Taylor) – 50.52

2nd – Germany (Jamanka) – 50.54

3rd – USA (Greubel-Poser) – 50.59

4th – Germany (Schneider) – 50.63

5th – Canada (Humphries) – 50.72

6th – Great Britain (McNeill) – 50.77

7th – Canada (Rissling) – 50.81

8th – Switzerland (Hafner) – 50.86

9th – Canada (De Bruin) – 50.94

10th – OAR (Sergeeva) – 51.01

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