Photos from my adventures

Took a while, but I am finally posting some photos from my recent adventures! Enjoy!


Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon, and I on the set of ESPN's PTI (Pardon the Interruption). Tony gave me a shout out and showed my medal! Oh yeah, and getting to watch the filming of the show was pretty cool too.


Hershel Walker and I. Herchel was a brakeman for my current coach, Brian Shimer, in the 1992 Winter Olympics. Two of Georgia's finest brakemen :)


Jennie Finch, Michelle Smith, and I. Jennie and Michelle are two of the greatest pitchers ever to play softball and are both Olympic Medalists.


NASCAR!!! Need I say more!

Medal Ceremony

The medal ceremony was one of the happiest days of my life so far. I actually cried! Didn't think I would- I always say I don't have tear ducts because of my lack of ability to cry when I want to most- but I cried like a baby on this day- Erin hugs me to cover it- well done! But in case you missed it, here is the link to the video: http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/assetid=18d08c0a-0ce9-4113-964b-4218cf992feb.html

Driving

The media circuit has slowed quite a bit (I'll update on that later), which has given me time to get back to bobsledding! As many of you know or have read, I am trying my hand at driving now! I drove a little at the end of last season and am doing the same this season, except this season I will hit two tracks. I am currently out in Park City, UT driving and will go to Lake Placid, NY, on Thursday to do more driving and prepare for a race- America's Cup on April 2- which I'm completely stoked about!

One of the toughest things about being a driver however has been finding a brakeman. You wouldn't imagine how hard it is to find brakeman that can commit to sliding for a few days. I have been emailing hundreds of colleges looking for athletes, but am striking out. I've been able to find some, but not enough- which makes it impossible to learn how to drive! We (Jamie Greubel, Jazmine Fenlator, and I) have been rotating driving and braking- which has been crazy and resulted in me taking 9 runs the other day...9 RUNS!!! Usually you take two and as a World Cup brakeman- usually you take 6 per week at most- and I took 9 in one day! NINE!!! Crazy stuff but that's what you have to do when you can't find brakeman.

I'm excited to see if I can actually do this- so we'll see. I love it and enjoy it quite a bit- so we'll see what happens. For now, if you know anyone who could be a brakeman- send them my way!!! I'm desperate!!!

NASCAR- Atlanta Motor Speedway

One of the coolest things about winning a bronze medal in the Olympics is being invited to events to make appearances. This weekend, my pilot Erin Pac, myself, and gold medalist Steve Holcomb and Steve Mesler, are guests of NASCAR at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Although everyone else had to fly down from their respective homes- I get to drive around the corner to experience my first NASCAR race!!

For those of you who may not know, bobsled has quite a bit of ties to NASCAR. Racer Geoff Bodine created the Bo-Dyn program and creates and designs our sleds- the medal winning sleds you saw in Whistler! With the support of Geoff Bodine and other NASCAR sponsors, we are able to develop the fastest sleds in the world- complete with AMERICAN MADE TECHNOLOGY!!! Our sleds are 100% AMERICAN and 100% FAST!

It already has been quite a busy weekend and the best is yet to come! Another day at the track awaits...I'll post all about it after!

Dating While Bobsledding

One of my greatest dreams in life aside from winning medals is to one day have a family of my own, you know, a husband, children, white picket fence...well maybe not a white picket fence but a house on the beach wouldn't be so bad :) Anyway, as much as some men don't want to admit it, the real point of dating is to try to find that special someone to share the rest of your life with- that someone who will love you when you bring home a Bronze medal or when you come home battered and bruised from a horrible crash or when you lose your job and the money's gone- someone who will love you through thick and thin- and a kind of love that you can't even put into words. That's the kind of love I want to have someday, a love that's forgiving and loving and true, but in my line of business (although bobsled can be business but it's also play!), dating is very difficult. I've had the great opportunity to meet some incredible men! Simply incredible! Men that will make some women very happy someday, however, that woman won't be me. It's unfortunate yes, but I meet someone incredible and then two weeks later I'm off again, trying to stay in touch, doing what we can, but nothing ever really working out- which is definitely understandable- it's very hard to feel connected to someone who is never around. Even dating other bobsledders is difficult for the same reason- in season you are so busy doing what you need to do you don't have time for dating really, and then the season ends and they go back to their respective country. Don't get me wrong-I love what I do! I've met some amazing people and I'm very grateful for what I've been able to accomplish and I wouldn't change a thing. I know my prince charming is out there somewhere to sweep me off my feet, someone who will be able to stick with me as I travel around the globe doing my thing- not an easy task I assure you. Until then, it's back to work and dreaming about my future family.

If you can't tell by now...I'm definitely a romantic :)

Hats!

I'm sorry the hats have not been as easy to purchase as planned! We are reorganizing the structure that will hopefully make it a lot easier. Thanks for your patience- I'll post all the info when I can!

Fundraiser- Beanies/Touques/Hats- or whatever you call them!

As Winter Olympic athletes, many of us are not professionals and because our sports are relatively small on a national scale, we usually don't draw big name sponsors and have a hard enough time getting any sponsors at all. Bobsled is a very expensive sport, for example, when I go next week to Park City, Utah, to start driving, it will all be on my own dime- especially cause I currently have no sponsorship contracts. In order to help me raise funds to cover these expenses, I will be selling beanies or touques or hats or whatever you want to call them on ebay. The headwear will also be autographed personally by me, for each buyer. Hopefully by various fundraisers and working multiple jobs this summer I will be able to fund everything I need on tour next season. Being a bobsledder often costs more than you'll ever have the opportunity to make, but I love what I'm doing so I'm going to do whatever I can to keep doing it- including work multiple jobs and fundraise like crazy. This one is the first of many- so buy your hats now!!! Here is where you can purchase them on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120538653573#ht_500wt_1182
Check it out! Note: the photo says Dad of Elana Meyers but yours will say Friend of Elana Meyers.

Closing Ceremonies!

Closing ceremonies were amazing! The Olympics were definitely great, but the season it long and I was excited to go home for a brief second. Here are a few pictures with some of the athletes during closing ceremonies:


Shani Davis with Erin and I


Lindsey Vonn, the anti-Lindsey Vonn (Erin was called it in an article- we're confused as to what it means), and I


Figure Skater Rachel Flatt and I

Medical Staff

One of my coaches once told me you're only as good as your medical staff. I learned this Olymipcs that he was truly correct. The difference is not the type of training athletes do, we are all essentially doing the same type of exercises, just in a different order. The difference lies in the medical staff supporting you- which medical staff can keep you healthy the longest and get you competing and training the most days out of the season. I learned that fully this season, after nursing a hamstring injury all season as well as Erin's hamstring injury during the Olympics. Our medical staff has worked so hard to get us and keep us healthy and they deserve more credit than they'll ever receive. There's so many medical professionals that worked with us this season- so thank you all for all you do- but I did want to recognize the two that were with us the majority of the season- Dr. Jason Ross and Byron Craighead. These two were the glue that held the entire US Bobsled team together- you guys are awesome and thank you for doing your job so well that we can do ours. I for one wouldn't be walking around with the Bronze medal on my neck without you.