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Three-for-three, Fleming, Rohbock roll on
By Karen Saladya // U.S. Bobsled // December 17, 2006
LAKE PLACID, N.Y.—The team of Shauna Rohbock (Orem, Utah) and Valerie Fleming (Foster City, Calif.) tied for third place at the World Cup women’s bobsled race held today at the Olympic Sports Complex track in Lake Placid, N.Y. With today’s finish, the 2006 Olympic silver medalists claimed three medals in the season’s first three World Cup competitions.
The pair had a rough first run of 58.49 seconds that put them in fourth place heading into the final heat. Rohbock and Fleming rebounded on their second slide with the day’s fastest run of 58.10, but could not recover the time they lost on their initial run. The duo finished with a combined time of 1:56.59, as did 2006 Olympic gold medalists Sandra Kiriasis and Anja Schneiderheinze. The German pair recorded runs of 58.36 and 58.23.
“The first run was definitely a bit of a shocker,” Rohbock said. “The second run was the fastest of the day, so it was obviously a little bit better. I think you have to have two good runs. They don’t have to be great, but you have to have at least two good ones. And I only put one good run together today.”
Replicating their seventh-place finish from last week’s World Cup race in Park City, Utah, were Sara Sprung (Frisco, Colo.) and Ingrid Marcum (Elmhurst, Ill.). They earned runs of 59.17 and 59.11 to finish with a total time of 1:58.28.
Winning the gold medal were Germans Cathleen Martini and Janine Tischer in 1:56.37 (58.26, 58.11), who placed second to Rohbock and Fleming in the previous two races. In second and setting a push record of 5.57 seconds was the Canadian team of Helen Upperton and Jaime Cruickshank in a total time of 1:56.41 (58.20, 58.21).
The Germans placed all three teams in the top-five sleds as Claudia Schramm and Stefanie Szczurek were fifth in 1:57.89 (58.93, 58.96). Amanda Stepenko and Shelly-Ann Brown rounded out the podium finishers in sixth place in a time of 1:58.05 (59.07, 58.98).
The U.S. women’s bobsled team is off until the U.S. National Championships, which are scheduled for Jan. 5, 2007 in Lake Placid. The next World Cup women’s bobsled competition is Jan. 13, 2007 in Cortina, Italy. For complete results of today’s race, visit the FIBT’s Web site at www.bobsleigh.com. The Lake Placid women’s bobsled race will be televised nationally on SPEED Channel on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2007, at 1 p.m. EST.
RESULTS:
1. Martini and Tischer (Germany), 1:56.37 (58.26, 58.11); 2. Upperton and Cruickshank (Canada), 1:56.41 (58.20, 58.21); T3. Rohbock and Fleming (USA), 1:56.59 (58.49, 58.10); T3. Kiriasis and Schneiderheinze (Germany), 1:56.59 (58.36, 58.23); 5. Schramm and Szczurek (Germany), 1:57.89 (58.93, 58.96); 6. Stepenko and Brown (Canada), 1:58.05 (59.07, 58.98); 7. Sprung and Marcum (USA), 1:58.28 (59.17, 59.11).
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