Word: bakken
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...Bakken and Flowers have something that no other woman in the world can lay claim to: an Olympic bobsled gold medal. Flowers, 28, of Alabama, also found herself with another honor - she is the first black athlete, male or female, from any country in the world, to win gold at the Winter Games. Who knows? By the end of the week, she and Bakken may not only have an agent, but a deal or three...
...Theirs was a surprise finish in the inaugural women's Olympic bobsled competition, which was expected to end with either Racine, a two-time world No. 1 driver, or one of two German teams, whose drivers ranked first and second this season, on top of the podium. Bakken, who has been hampered by injury and poor performance, hasn't won a World Cup event for years and was ranked sixth coming into the Games. But a record-breaking start time led to a track-record run in the first heat, and her USA 2 sled made a clean, relatively quick...
...This is an amazing feeling," a giggling, sometimes teary Bakken said afterward. "There was a lot of tough competition, so we definitely had our work cut out for us because of the Germans...
...Before the Games fun was pretty scarce as the country's three top drivers - Bakken, Racine and Bonny Warner - battled for two Olympic berths. Each was looking for the best possible grunt, or push athlete, for their sled. And in bobsled, drivers have the power to pick who sits in the back seat, with coaches playing only an advisory role...
...Bakken, 26, a seven-year bobsled veteran, had spent the past season sliding with her best friend, Shauna Rohbock. But she got to thinking about the potential of Flowers, a seven-time all-America track and field athlete, and decided to organize a push-off. "It was very difficult of me to ask, and it was very difficult for Shauna to have a push off, but she did because she's an athlete and she knows the game," said Bakken yesterday, crediting Rohbock with playing an important role in getting her to the Games. (Even after Rohbock lost her seat...