Support systems

Hugging my mom after winning a bronze medal at the 2012 World Championships.  So glad I was able to share this with her and my entire family.

I just recently returned back to Lake Placid to continue training for the upcoming season after driving 20 hours with my boyfriend to Douglasville to surprise my mom for her birthday.  She was completely shocked and I was so excited to see all of my family, as I didn't think I'd get the opportunity to see them until Christmas- and I wasn't even so sure about that.  So in that spirit, I write this blog...

I was talking with my little sister one day, who currently works as a CNA, and she stated that I didn't know what it's like to work with people who don't like me.  Oh to the contrary!  I live in an Olympic Training Center.  I wake up every morning and have breakfast with people who directly want to take my spot.  I eat train with them, eat lunch with them, spend time in the cold tub with them, eat dinner with them, and sometimes there even the last face I see before I go to bed.  It's quite the intense environment!  Every day you are directly confronted with people who want to beat you and of course, being the competitor that I am- I also want to beat them too.  Most jobs you go to work but then you get to come home to a loving family and relax and not think about the competition for the next promotion or the competition for the next big project.  That's not life in a training center.  In life in a training center, you're constantly reminded that no matter how much you may like your teammates, only one team can be on top of the podium and each person is working to be that team.  You are daily, hourly, face to face with your competition not only for a spot on the Olympic team, but also for a spot on the top of the podium.  And this type of environment can drive you completely insane...

But for the most part, I wouldn't consider myself insane (I still do bobsled after all- and that in itself is a little crazy).  So what's the key to keeping it all together in an intense environment?  For me, it's my support systems.  My support comes from all the people who love me regardless of how much I can squat or power clean, how fast I push, how I drive down an ice track, or how many medals I win.  My support comes from the people who know how to make me smile, who know how to make me life, and allow me to be myself and act as crazy as I want to be.  It's hard being over 1,000 miles away from home because in a large part my family is this support.  I love being able to talk football or finance with my father; I love being able to talk politics with my mother; I love being able to talk about relationships with my little sister; and I love being able to talk about all kinds of crazy with my older sister.  Luckily through technology I get to speak with them as much as I want, but it's really not the same as being with them- sharing our lives together.  It's crazy hard, which is why I was so happy to be able to go home this past week and spend time with them.  My support system is crazy vital to my success in the sport of bobsled.

Luckily, I also met the love of my life through bobsled.  Although I don't have my family by my side every day, I do have him and he provides me with more joy and laughter than I ever thought possible.  You see, that's the key to being able to be successful in such an intense environment, laughter and support, and he provides both.  Like yesterday- I've been struggling with power cleans for a long time now and despite devoting an entire month to just technique- it's still not clicking (needless to say I'll never be an Olympic weightlifter lol).  So yesterday was another day spent working on it- another day ending with me frustrated- a frustration that is hard to erase when I walk into the cafeteria and are faced with my teammates and competition.  My normal M.O. would be to wear my emotions on my sleeve, go into the caf and continue with my frustration, but that's not what happened.  What did happen is I walked into the caf and saw my boyfriend, who instantly made me smile and forget all about the power cleans.  We spent the entire dinner making up Cookie Monster remixes to popular songs, trying to see if we could send some to Sesame Street and get published (more on this later- and perhaps a song or two lol).  I didn't focus on my power cleans or what happened that day in the weight room, I didn't stay frustrated as I normally would have, I just smiled and laughed and had a great dinner.

That's what a support system is all about.  A support system loves and encourages you no matter what.  They love you through the rough times and cheer you on in the good times.  They pick you up when you're down and also humble you when you're too high (my mom doesn't care how many medals I win, I'll always have to keep my room clean at her house lol).  I love my family and I love my boyfriend and they'll be right beside me through the good times and bad times, in bobsled and after I retire.

P.S.- there are other people in my life that are support systems- my friends, my teammates, my fans, heck even my agent- but this blog wasn't about them- I'll speak more on that support later.  This blog was specifically devoted to those people who know me best- uninhibitedly.  Thank you to all my friends, teammates, fans, etc for all the support- I love you all!

The Facts: Olympic Finances

With the London 2012 Olympics just finishing up, throughout the course of these games there has been much discussion about the finances of Olympic athletes and their families.  See the following articles below:

http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/10/news/economy/olympic-athletes-financial/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/07/gabby-douglas-ryan-lochte-why-families-of-america-s-olympics-athletes-are-broke.html

So what can you make out of all of this?  Well, here's my take:  the finances of Olympic athletes in the US is a very complex issue.  On one end you have superstars like LeBron James, Michael Phelps, and now Gabby Douglas, making millions just to name a few; but these are the very very few of the Olympic athletes who represent the U.S.  Think about it, out of the 529 2012 US Olympians, how many can you name?  Probably not a lot, but each of these athletes have spent great amounts of money to reach there goals, have wracked up credit cards bills, their families have taken out second mortgages or sacrificed other ways,  in order to reach their Olympic dream.  And so many others have done the exact same thing, only to get to Olympic trials and not make the US Olympic team.  Not only will the majority of US Olympians never make back from their sports what they spend, but for those who spend just as much if not more and don't make the team, they don't even get the reward of being able to call themselves Olympians.  All many of these once Olympic hopefuls have to show for their years of commitment to a dream is staggering debt.  

So here's what I'm going to do.  I'm going to lay out exactly how it works and let you decide what to think.  I'm not going to give you my opinion, just lay out some facts to open up some understanding.  So here we go:

1.  The US Government does not financially support the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), the committee that as part of the International Olympic Committee, nominates the US Olypmic team and funds all their sports and activities.  The US Government does not give any money to athletes or to our sports.  The USOC is funded by sponsorship and private donations, as well as tv and broadcasting rights, that accounts for billions of dollars (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/06/olympic-tv-decision-between-nbc-espn-and-fox-could-come-down-today/1#.UCg8dqmyWnB)

2.  Very few Olympic athletes make the millions you see the top most marketable athletes making.  Most Olympic athletes make very little money, spend most of their savings on their sport, and wrack up debt during their sport.  I do not have my own house because I cannot afford it and many other Olympians don't either in order to keep competing in their sport. The majority of us are not balling out of control and have to find creative ways to raise funds in order to keep competing in our sports.

3.  The USOC gives money to each individual sport federation for the operation of their sports.  For example, every year the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation receives funds from the USOC to not only pay its coaches, but also fund its season and even provide athlete support.  The decision of how exactly these funds are used is up to the officials of the sport, including in bobsled our CEO, High Performance Director, and our coaches.  The majority of this funding received is spent on funding the travel and expenses for the season for our teams to compete on World Cup tour, which leaves little to nothing left for bobsledders and skeleton athletes on lower development circuits (bobsled is one of the most expensive sports in the USOC).

4.  On the developmental bobsled and skeleton tours, the tours that are required in order to move up the ranks in these sports, are self-funded.  These tours require travel throughout the US and Europe, in order to gain experience to contend for a spot on the national team.  These tours are quite expensive, as you must make sure you have a sled (a bobsled to purchase can cost up to $100,000), all your equipment (our runners- blades- alone cost $5400 a set), provide all your necessary travel, and any related training expenses.  Luckily, our federation is usually able to accommodate all athletes with sleds, but shipping a sled may cost over $3,000.  In just 1/2 a season as a beginner pilot, I had expenses over $16,000.

5.  The USOC does provide some athlete support in the form of stipends.  These stipends differ from federation to federation and are very dependent on your ranking.  If your ranking drops, so does your stipend.  Stipends are given monthly and each federation chooses how to allocate their stipends differently.  In bobsled, the athletes receiving the highest stipends are the one's winning the most medals.

6.  Athletes do not receive pay checks.  Other than stipends, which may or may not be adequate to cover living expenses, athletes must find other ways to support themselves.  One of the main ways to do this is through sponsorship.  However, sponsorship is hard to come by.  I have an Olympic medal, an agent, and have been actively doing PR and appearances for 3 years and yet have no sponsors other than a few product sponsors.  I also host my own fundraisers and rely on donations (to which I'm very grateful to all my supporters).

7.  The USOC also provides health insurance, but this is also based on rank.  If your rank drops, so does your health insurance.  Also, not all athletes are able to get health insurance.  How many are able depends per federation, but once again, the highest ranked athletes receive health insurance.

8.  The USOC has a partnership with Adecco USA to give athletes the opportunity to work a flexible schedule and train full time.  Most athletes training for the Olympics train over 40 hours per week, so there really is not time to work, but the program is there none-the-less.  I am in the program and struggle to fit hours in because of my hectic schedule, but have the opportunity to make a little money when I can.

9.  The USOC provides housing for some athletes at Olympic Training Centers.  There are 3 Olympic Training Centers in the US and each has a limited amount of bed space.   The ability to get a bed also depends on ranking, with higher ranked athletes having greater access than lower ranked.  However, some federations choose to use the beds they have for developmental athletes, which leaves the higher ranked athletes out.  Also, not all federations get beds in an Olympic Training Center, as these beds are also dependent on the strength of the sport.  Sports that aren't performing as well receive less beds, leaving those athletes out.  At the Olympic Training Center, food and housing are covered.  Housing differs per rank, some athletes are guaranteed housing for a year, while others live week to week hoping each week they still have housing.  The Olympic Training Centers also try to raise revenue for the USOC, so often beds are filled with organizations willing to pay, like cross country camps here in Lake Placid.

10.  The USOC has many sponsors and some of these sponsors offer athletes discounts and savings.  Also, some of these sponsors provide athlete support by giving athletes the opportunity to make appearances for small earnings.  For example, DeVry University has joined with the USOC to help athletes find a way to earn a degree while competing.  I am part of the program and am currently working toward my MBA.

As you can see, this is a very complex issue with many different parts, and everything is based on rank.  In sports like bobsled however, rank can only be accomplished after working your way through the development circuit and then making the national team.  Working your way to the national team is something that is funded completely on your own, and unlike track where all you need is a pair of shoes, the expenses in bobsled can be staggering in the tens of thousands of dollars a season.  Even once you are on the national team, the expenses are still immense.  Last season I was the number 1 ranked pilot on the US Women's Bobsled team and won a medal at World Championships, but spent over $13,000 on bobsled expenses.

So I've presented all the facts, nothing to agree or disagree with, because it's simply that- just the facts.  (However, if some of my facts are wrong, please let me know!)  One thing is for certain though, as Olympic athletes we are not in it for the fame or the money.  We are in it because we love our sports and more importantly love our country.  We are honored to represent the USA and no amount of money could take that honor away.  We each go after the greatest honor of all, winning a gold medal for your country, regardless of where it leaves us financially.  

Share the Ride for Women's Bobsled

This past season the women's bobsled team managed to keep 3 sleds on the World Cup tour.  What do I mean by that?  The World Cup tour is the highest circuit of bobsled races.  It's the race circuit that the Olympic team is named from, and it consists of 8 races each year (this year it's actually 9), and you earn points for each place finish on the tour (1st place is 225 points, 2nd is 210, etc).  These points add up and give an overall ranking, which not only ranks each sled but also ranks each nation.  The top 4 nations are allowed 3 sleds on the World Cup tour, but only the top 2 nations get 3 sleds in the Olympics.  Because it is so competitive to get 3 sleds at the Olympics, it's essential that we keep 3 sleds on the World Cup tour and this season despite having relatively new drivers (myself and Jazmine Fenlator) we were able to keep our 3rd sled heading into this season.  However, despite that we were able to keep that sled, our federation can't afford to fund that sled on the World Cup tour this season.  As the US women's bobsled team, we have decided that we are going to find a way to keep this sled on tour, as it's imperative in order to make our Olympic dreams come true.

As a team we're trying to sweep gold, silver, and bronze at the Olympics, so we're doing everything we can to make that happen, starting with fundraising.  First, we're going to be holding a spaghetti dinner in Lake Placid, NY, along with a silent auction to raise some funds, which will be September 1.  Second, for all those who aren't able to make it, you can take a ride with us!  What do I mean by that?  Well, you can put your name on our sleds for just $25 and 1/2 of the proceeds will go directly to helping us keep our USA 3 sled sliding, thereby helping us get to the Olympics.  Not only will you help us reach our goal, but your name will be on a bobsled that is shown on tv worldwide through the 10 races of the season (9 World Cup races and World Championships).  You can help us reach the top! For more information and to put your name on a sled, visit here: http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Bobsled-and-Skeleton-Federation/Donate/Share-the-Ride.aspx 

Thanks everyone for all your support!

The Olympics are here!

Finally!  After waiting 4 years for more memorable moments, the 2010 Summer Olympics have arrived!  This is the first Olympics since I've went in 2010 and I've got to say watching it now has a whole new meaning.  It was crazy watching the Opening Ceremony and feeling some of the things I felt walking through in 2010.  Each medal ceremony reminds me what it was like to stand up there as a representative of the USA.  Every single event reminds me what it was like to compete on the world's largest stage.  It's so exciting!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the trip over to London to view the games firsthand (too much training to do to try to make 2014), but I can assure you I'm watching as much as possible.  Between NBC's tv coverage (even though we don't have all the channels in the OTC) and the online coverage, I've watched quite a bit of coverage, and a lot of sports I haven't been able to see previously.  Today alone, I've watched indoor and beach volleyball, rowing, cycling, weightlifting, gymnastics, field hockey, swimming, and water polo, and there's still day left!  

Here at the Olympic Training Center, it's extra inspiring as I know everyone around me is training to reach those moments, to live their Olympic dream.  Everyone crowds around the tvs whenever possible to take it all in.  We even have it turned on during the weight room, which inspires everyone to push even more.  We're all fired up here cheering for our Team USA counterparts, and each of us knows that after these 16 days, the world's eyes will be on us.  We're next and the clock is counting down!  Can't wait to train this week with another week of inspiring Olympic action ahead!

Post-Season Awards: What you didn't see

Two weeks ago I was named Women's Bobsled Athlete of the Year and also received the Athlete's Choice Award.  The first is pretty self-explanatory but the second was an award voted on by my teammates.  Now I'm not one to dwell on awards, as soon as a race ends I start thinking about the next one, and as soon as a season ends I'm also focused forward.  However, these two awards I am especially honored about, but I have to revisit because of why I won them.  This season was a truly difficult season for me.  I started off the season with 2 crashes in as many weeks and a dismal performance at team trials.  Dejected, I went to Europe questioning whether or not I should even be driving.  Through the help of my teammates and coaches, I persevered, overcame, and grew.  This season was difficult but I made it through, had good results, and even some fun at the end of the day, and I feel that all these struggles were crucial to putting me where exactly I need to be come 2014.  However, none of this season would have been possible without the wonderful teammates I have.  I truly believe I have the best ones in the world.  Because of that, I wanted to share a little bit about the behind the scenes stuff that went on this season to show how awesome my teammates truly are.  Of course you know the obvious ones, the brakeman who raced with me- Katie Eberling, Emily Azevedo, Brittany Reinbolt, and Ingrid Marcum, but there's so much more to the story, so here we go...

Katie Eberling- Her support never wavered.  From the moment after push championships, when she agreed to race team trials with me, she supported me and believed in me.  That kind of unwavering support is rare, but she was continually supportive, even when she was racing against me on other sleds (not to the point that she still didn't want to beat me though lol).  If she was ever anything less than confident in what we could do, she never showed it.  Not only did she race a majority of the Europa Cup races with me to get me qualified to go to Sochi, including the crazy one to put us over to qualify, she also as a rookie took on the task of being the sole brakeman representative in Sochi and handled it like a champ.  It put me at ease knowing that I didn't have to worry about anything, and she went the extra mile to make sure I didn't.  Things like that just can't be quantified, but they are truly the intangibles that win championships.

Emily Azevedo- The thing that sticks out the most is her team work.  She not only helped a team full of rookies adjust to the World Cup tour, she also took run after run when we were down an alternate, despite the fact that she was our only returning Olympic brakeman.  She, like Katie, raced two days back to back in two different countries to help qualify for Sochi, a feat that is no easy task but they both handled it like champs.

Brittany Reinbolt- What can I say about the girl who continually keeps me laughing?  She really does add something special to the team.  First, despite a poor finish at push championships, she inspired us all by fighting her way onto the World Cup team.  She took more runs than perhaps any other brakeman, and with two unseasoned drivers, that was quite a task (I crashed her twice this season, let alone the other crazy trips I took with her).  Every week she was broken and black and blue, but she continued to slide and continued to train to get better and push as hard as she could.  She was an alternate, but she worked every day to get better.  I believe though the best example of Brittany's commitment to team excellence can be shown through the Sochi experience.  Despite not getting an opportunity to race on the World Cup team, Brittany drove to and from Switzerland and Germany so that the drivers and competing brakeman could rest.  Not only did she drive, but she also took trips in both countries to ensure that the competing brakeman could get some rest.  I will never forget her willingness to step up and take so much for the team this season, and only hope I could be as good of a teammate to her as she was to all of us.

Hillary Werth- She fought her way onto World Cup as well and was fighting to get a racing spot when tragedy struck.  After a bad crash, I rushed down to her to check on her, and all she could focus on was the state of her driver and when she could get back in a sled again.  The girl had doctors sticking IVs into her and other EMTs trying to cut off her clothes to treat her, yet she was focused on her teammate and trying to get back in a sled to race with her teammates.  She even was asking me about racing with me that weekend!  She exemplified how teammates should care for each other.

Ingrid Marcum- She raced with me my final team trials race.  Afterwards, I was pretty dejected and upset, but she encouraged me.  She told me story after story of instances in bobsled that basically proved its not how you start, its how you finish.  She helped me try to put my team trials experience behind me, and move on to the next race.

Ida Bernstein- After my team trials, I was determined to get better and fix things.  My sled had shipped to Europe, but I was offered to slide in another sled to get more trips.  Mind you, I had crashed twice in two weeks and was now driving a sled I hadn't been in in a long time, and she took trip after trip with me so I could get more trips.  No questions asked, she just kept sliding, which allowed me to get in the state of mind I needed to be in before heading over to Europe.

Nicole Vogt- I honestly didn't have much interaction with this particular brakeman, but she was always there to help when she was around, and continually lent a helping hand.

Jamie Greubel, Jazmine Fenlator, Megan Hill, Katelyn Kelly, and Bree Schaaf- My fellow drivers and competitors are the people who continually push me to be better.  Each of them have encouraged me in various ways, whether it was through words or through their continued fight to become the best in the world. Jamie through her continued hard work and fighting, Jazmine for her relentless encouragement and heart, Megan and Katelyn through their constant support, and Bree for the wealth of experience she shares and tradition she helps continue.  I am constantly inspired by my driving teammates by their persistence and their perseverance past an assortment of obstacles.  Getting to Sochi will be the battle of a lifetime, but I'm blessed to be able to battle it out against these great competitors.

And if these brief epithets aren't enough to show the I have the best of teammates in the world, I could go on...but perhaps I'll save that for another blog in the future...

My DeVry

I'm sure you've seen the commercials and heard the slogan- my DeVry.  Well, I'm please to announce that I am going back to school at the Keller Graduate School to get an MBA in finance.  I was thinking about going back to school to study business, but had no idea how to do it and continue competing.  Most online MBA programs are executive MBA programs, which mean you have to have significant work experience in the industry.  Interestingly enough, GW does offer an MBA program for athletes, actors, and other celebrities, but unfortunately I wasn't invited to join this program.  Anyway, so I was considering going back to school and emailed one of the residence managers here at the Olympic Training Center.  She told me that DeVry University had recently signed on as a USOC sponsor to help athletes get degrees while competing.  I inquired further about this program and next thing you know, I'm registering for classes!  Crazy!

With finals next week, I would have completed my first full semester- which is two courses.   So far, I'm enjoying the process quite a bit and am really enjoying learning more about the business world.  I am enjoying this more than I did my other master's degree program and am learning tons!  It's quite exciting to be learning something and enjoying it at the same time!

It'll take me a while to complete this degree, but I'm not in a hurry.  With training full-time and working, DeVry has been very helpful in coordinating a schedule that works for me, and I'm very excited about what an MBA will mean for my future.

I will also be making several appearances for DeVry and doing different projects with them.  This upcoming week, I'll be at the DeVry campus in Phoenix, AZ, as one of the athletes on the Road to London tour, a tour that celebrates DeVry's Team USA student-athletes.  I'll also be working with them on the Mark Your Moments campaign, a Facebook app that helps you set and keep track of your goals (you can join too at http://sml.devry.edu/MYMSE).  


I'll continue to keep you guys posted on my progress with my degree.  But for now, finals are next week so I better get to studying!


Be sure to check out DeVry's website at http://www.devry.edu   I'm not listed on the Team USA page yet, but I will be.

The Diary of a Coffee Addict

If you know me you know that I absolutely love coffee!  It all started in college- those late nights of studying, juggling softball and working made the hot brew a necessity.  What started as a great way to stay awake grew into a three venti-a-day addiction!  I was obsessed and kept the habit until just recently...

Recently, my boyfriend made me stop drinking coffee.  Why you ask?  Well, caffeine can have many positive affects on athletic performance, but it can also negatively affect hydration levels.  In my case, I was often having about 4 cups of coffee before breakfast and it usually made up most of my liquid consumption for the day, which most likely dehydrated me to the point that any benefits of the caffeine were outweighed by the massive amounts I was drinking.  You see, hydration is key for any athlete.  Power output drastically decreases with dehydration (you can google countless studies that give exact numbers).  With the amount of caffeine I was consuming in the coffee, it was likely decreasing my power output and therefore negatively affecting my performance.  Of course the easy decision appears to be to decrease my coffee consumption, but as a self-proclaimed coffee addict, it's not so easy.  Knowing this, my boyfriend told me no more coffee, and I've been off coffee- cold turkey- for over a month now.

So what I have I noticed over the month?  I am definitely more hydrated and my power output has increased, but it can't all be directly correlated to cutting out coffee.  I have been working hard on the new programs and getting everything in order to train hard, so there's multiple factors to consider as far as power output is concerned.  I do miss coffee- I love the smell of it, the taste of it, the feeling of a nice cup first thing in the morning.  As an elite athlete though, there's things you must sacrifice in order to get where you want to go, and until I can limit myself to one cup a day and maintain my hydration level, I guess the coffee is another sacrifice in the name of bobsled.

One day, I'll have my coffee and drink it too...

The Weight of It All

With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London right around the corner, athletes are increasingly being scrutinized and judged based on their ability to perform in this 2 week event that occurs once every four years.  As if athletes didn't feel the enough pressure from trying to win a medal for their country in front of billions of viewers worldwide, an opportunity that they may only have once despite a lifetime of training, they are increasingly feeling pressured to look a certain way while doing it.  More and more articles have discussed the weight and size of various female athletes, stating some athletes are too fat, too muscular, or too big.

As public figures, athletes are subject to this kind of scrutiny, but is it really warranted?  Take for example the case of Jessica Ennis, the British phenom Heptathlete who is expected to win gold in London.  She may not be a size 2 model, but anyone who follows track and field can see that Ennis is clearly on the top of her game regardless of her weight or size.  She was recently criticized by a British official as being "too fat" but recent performance in Austria (where she broke the British Heptathlon record), proves that size doesn't matter.  Did I mention that Ennis is gorgeous; powerful, fit, and compact, the perfect combination for an elite female athlete?  Read more about Ennis and body image in British sport in this article by Annabel Croft, a former elite British tennis player: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9291962/Olympic-athletes-These-women-are-in-perfect-condition-so-why-call-them-fat.html

Shawn Johnson also recently came out and spoke about her body image issues growing up in the sport of gymnastics.  The dynamo of the 2008 Olympic Gold medal team, recently spoke out about her pressures to be thin and her struggles with body image.  See the following articles:  http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/gymnastics/story/2012-05-14/shawn-johnson-loses-weight-speaks-out-body-image/54959326/1
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/shawn-johnson-lost-25-pounds-hurtful-fat-talk-211635709.html

Body image is an inevitable discussion when it comes to female athletes.  Athletes are put under pressure to look a certain way while performing at the highest level.  What most people don't realize is that the requirements of various sports necessitate variety in body types.  What looks great for a track athlete or gymnast, might not work for a bobsledder or a weightlifter for example.  In the 75+ kg weight class for women in weightlifting, the women are large and in-charge and can sure move a ton of weight (much more than the critiques of the bodies of female athletes).  In bobsled, although we try to maximize our weight to weight to power ratio, we have to weigh between 165-180lbs for our sport (weight flies down the track), which is far from a size 2 model.

So when is society going to stop calling female athletes fat and start looking at the amazing feats they are able to accomplish using their bodies, regardless of size?  After all, both the smallest and the largest of us all have the opportunity to win medals, which makes the Olympics that much more beautiful.

Wait a second...THAT'S NOT ME!

My first agent created a website for me and operated the site.  Unfortunately, after we parted ways, I never re-established control of the site.  My former agent was very kind and even updated the site after I won Olympic bronze; but after that update, the site was left alone for quite some time.  I tried to reacquire the site without any luck, and eventually the contract between my agent and the hosting site expired.  I recently learned however, that once a site expires, hackers go and take the domain name, especially ones linked to "famous" people, and try to get those people to buy the domain name back!  Crazy stuff- I had no idea this could happen!  So now, the site www.elanameyers.com is being operated by a hacker who is waiting for me or Elena Meyers (a famous bike racer) to try to buy the domain name back.  On the site, you can see stuff online about the two of us, which is strange to see.  Well, I'm not one to give in to hackers, so I won't be buying the domain name anytime soon.  I will get another website, but in the meantime, if you find yourself visiting www.elanameyers.com  IT'S NOT ME!

2012 World Championships

So it's been a over a month since World Championships, but I'm finally having a chance to unwind and reflect on what happened.  I keep thinking about it, replaying it in my head, and the athlete in me can only see where I made mistakes.  It's pretty hard to sit and actually think about what happened- I'm a second year driver and Katie was a first year brakeman- and we won a world championship medal.  My mind can't help but think how I could've done better.  I went into the race knowing that I did everything possible to prepare for that race- and I still believe it's true, I just know that if I had a little more driving experience, things might have been different.  Not to discredit my competition at all- I was going up against some great accomplished drivers, just personally I can't help but think about my mistakes that cost me the championship.  I still have a lot to learn driving- and maybe it's unrealistic to expect perfection in just two years- but I'd be lying if I said I didn't strive for it anyway.

This year was quite difficult.  I thought as a second year driver, things would be easy- I had driven some of the tracks in Europe before- I had a great brakeman- piece of cake right?  Wrong!  I started off the season with a rough team trials including two crashes and spent every where thereafter struggling, posting the slowest times in training of the whole group of international sleds.  I spent week after week crying my eyes out, struggling daily and almost crashing, trying to figure things out.  Each weekend, however, the races kept going well.  Then I'd hit another training week- more horrendous runs- and another pretty good race.  The season continued that way in dramatic fashion- more tears- more smiles during the weekend.  The last race before World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, was the one exception.  I trained great during the week- and the result was my worst race of the season on a track that will host next season's World Championships.  I went back to Lake Placid World Championships not knowing what to expect after a long season, but wanting to do well.  Training went as it had all season, I was sliding at the bottom of the pack in training.  The first day of the race I had no idea what to expect, I prayed as I walked to the line, slapped hands with Katie, and went for it...

So I walked away from the World Championships very happy with a bronze medal- it was definitely unexpected from everyone but perhaps Katie and I- but wanting more.  People have told me how exciting it was and how remarkable it was to see me on the podium, but for Katie and I we were just doing what we know how to do- the best we each could do and trying to have some fun at the same time.  Watching the runs, all I could think about was the things I can do better- which pushed me to stay in Placid as long as possible and continue to slide.  I still have so much more to work on and so much more to learn, but as medals are hard to come by regardless of how many years you've been driving, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the moment.  Sometimes bronze shines just as bright as gold...

Online content

Brief recap of my races so far this season:

Igls World Cup
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/7841972/elana_meyers_gets_first_world_cup_podium_from_universal_sports/

La Plagne World Cup
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/7869719/elana_meyers_scores_a_top_10_at_la_plagne_from_universal_sport/

Sorry for the delay...back at it!

It's been quite a while since I've blogged (sorry about that)- but quite a bit has happened, so I'll have to attempt to catch you up real quick.  We started World Cup tour with a race in Igls, Austria, where I won my first World Cup medal as a pilot- a bronze with brakeman Katie Eberling.  Prior to that race, I had won 3 World Cup medals as a brakeman in 3 seasons, and I raced with very good pilots as a brakeman- which shows you how difficult it can be to win a WC medal.  Katie pushed great and I was extremely excited to start of the season with a bronze medal.

Bronze for Katie and I in Igls World Cup

We then moved onto La Plagne, France, a track I never slid on as a brakeman and that most pilots had never been on as well.  Katie and I broke a start record, but after quite a troublesome week of training, I was actually happy with my 8th place result- I had my two best runs of the week on race day, and when you're a pilot- that's all you can really ask for.  You can't control the results- so you just have to do the best you can.

Katie and I at the start in La Plagne, France, where we currently hold the start record, 6.40

Onto Winterberg, Germany.   Winterberg is one of my favorite tracks.  It's quite boring- but it is the first European track I slid as a pilot, so maybe that's why I like it so much.  Anyway- after the first heat and some crazy weather- Katie and I were sitting in 6th.  Even crazier weather broke out in the second heat- and I came down after my second run and held my position.  Pilots Sandra Kirasis and Kaillie Humphries were in front of me and happened to be on the wrong side of the snow- and dropped quite low in the ranking despite being 2nd after the first run.  Their dropping moved me up to 4th place, and I ended first half ranked #5 in the world.

Katie and I at the finish dock in Winterberg

Christmas came and went- another post about that later- and now we're back in Europe.  I spent the first week in St. Moritz, Switzerland, skipping the World Cup race in Altenberg, Germany, in order to get more runs in St. Moritz- home of the 2013 World Championships- which are very important for the US team.  Having a good result at worlds means a lot more than any World Cup race- so it was important for us- Jazmine and I- to get extra runs on that track.

Now I'm back in Konigssee on World Cup again- a race this week and one more World Cup race in St. Moritz next week and then I'm back stateside!

I'll do a better job of keeping you updated now though...sorry for the delay!