Athletes
Steven Holcomb
A native of Park City, Utah, Holcomb is 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist, 2009 World Champion, and currently a pilot on the U.S. National Bobsled Team
John Daly
A native of Smithtown, NY, former BMXer and track and field athlete John, began the sport of skeleton in 2002. He quickly rose to an elite level, making the U.S. National team in 2004 and his first Olympic team in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, where he finished 17th. Although Daly sites St. Mortiz, Switzerland, as his favorite track, he loves Lake Placid for the great training it offers and because of Shady (or curve 10): "When you sling shot off the end come down into the straight away between 10 and 11 there is no feeling like it."
Favorite color: blue
Favorite food: penne alla vodka
Favorite athletic moment: participating in the 2010 Olympic games
Pre-race ritual: Listening to music
Competition Highlights:
Finished 17th at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, BC
Finished 17th at the 2011 World Championships in Konigssee, Germany
Silver medal at the 2011 U.S. National Championships
10th overall in World ranking in the 2011-2010 season
2010 Skeleton Athlete and Rookie of the Year
Matt Antoine
Hailing from Prairie du Chien, WI, Matt Antoine began the sport of skeleton in 2003, making the national team in 2007. He has quickly risen to one of America's top podium threats internationally, consistently finishing in the top 10 on the World Cup circuit. Antoine's favorite track is Whistler, Canada, where he won his first World Cup medal (bronze). He enjoys Lake Placid for its rich Olympic history and loves the track for the technicality it offers.
Favorite color: blue
Favorite food: pizza
Favorite athletic moment: watching the Packers make their improbable run through the playoffs to capture Super Bowl XLV
Pre-race ritual: Nothing but my iPod, Red bull, and a warm-up
Competition Highlights:
Finished 7th at the 2011 World Championships in Konigssee, Germany
Currently holds the track record in Lake Placid- 53.68
2011 U.S. National Champion
7th overall in World ranking in 2010-2011 season
Posted 7 top 10 finished in the 2010-2011 World Cup season
Jazmine Fenlator
A native of Wayne, NJ, Jazmine Fenlator began the sport of bobsled in 2007, at the suggestion of her track coach. The former shot put, hammer and discus thrower, Fenlator began the sport as a brakeman and moved to the front seat in 2009-2010 season. Fenlator made her World Cup debut in Lake Placid, on her favorite track, in 2010, finishing 11. She loves Lake Placid for "The history of the town and the games. There is just this aura around the venues of spirit and support." Her favorite part of the track in Placid is "the feeling out of Shady 2/curve 10 or even curve 14, when you know your on and hit the line that sling shots you with speed on the exit."
Favorite color: blue and green
Favorite food: home-cooked meals made with love, mom's eggplant parmesan, and sushi
Favorite athletic moment: Being one of the only competitors my senior year in college to qualify for regionals in 3 individual events, as well as being named Women of the year for my university. Also standing on the podium watching your nation's flag and anthem get raised after a bobsled race.
Pre-race ritual: Always have an energy drink with me, my iPod with jams to pump me up and relax me, track walk and go through visualization, have a brief silent pep talk to myself, and have my race gear/bag everything I need set up the night before.
Competition Highlights:
2010-2011 America's Cup Overall Champion
Finished 11th in her first World Cup race in Lake Placid in December 2010
Gold medals at two America's Cup races in Lake Placid in January 2011
7th Overall in the 2009-2010 America's Cup
Kyle Tress
A native of Ewing, NJ, Kyle Tress began the sport of skeleton in 2002, after watching the sport in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tress first made the national team in 2004, and lists St. Moritz as his favorite track in the world because of its natural design and speed. He loves Lake Placid for the "tight-knit training community; we're like a family" and he loves curves 3 and 12 on the track in Lake Placid because of their difficulty. When he is not sliding, Tress is pursuing a career in acting and has already appeared in CSI: New York, Transformers 2, and When in Rome. Tress is also the co-founder a software company, SledBox Interactive.
Favorite color: Purple
Favorite food: Red Bull
Favorite athletic moment: Competing in World Championships in Konigssee, Germany in 2011
Pre-race ritual: I train the way I race, so my pre-race ritual is to warm up, relax, and focus on the work; one curve at a time, one run at a time.
Competition Highlights:
Finished 25th at the 2011 World Championships in Konigssee, Germany
Bronze medal at the 2011 U.S. National Championships
23rd overall in World ranking in 2010-2011 season
Silver medal in the 2010 Intercontinental Cup in Winterberg, Germany
America's Cup Overall Champion in the 2009-2010 season
Annie O'Shea
Annie O'Shea, a native of Port Jefferson Station, NY, began the sport of skeleton while she was in high school in 2005. O'Shea quickly rose to the elite ranks, making her first national team in 2007. She loves Lake Placid for its peace and beauty: "My family enjoys coming to visit, its nice to be in the outdoors with the fresh air and beautiful mountains." Her favorite track is Lake Placid, where she currently holds the track record, and she loves it because "I have so many runs down it is almost a relaxing feeling going to the track to slide for the day. I am calmer when I go to this track as opposed to others because I am so comfortable. There is a rhythm and flow to this track that if you are on your game for the day it feels as if you are gliding and going faster than you can imagine."
Favorite color: blue
Favorite food: meatloaf and broccoli
Favorite athletic moment: My favorite athletic memory would be being able to share a great race performance with my family. I love getting to the bottom of the track and knowing you did your best, which is all I can ask for. It makes me even happier when all the people I love can be a part of it as well. Hearing the National Anthem either before a race or if anyone on the team wins always makes me teary eyed.
Pre-race ritual: I listen to whatever music I am in the mood for, I do my warm-up at a specific time on race day based on when it is my time to slide. I like to keep to myself more than I do on training days to help stay focused but not stressed out by what other athletes are doing
Competition Highlights:
Finished 23rd at the 2011 World Championships in Konigssee, Germany
Currently holds the track record for the Lake Placid track- 55.38
2011 U.S. National Champion
11th overall World ranking in 2010-2011 season
2 time America's Cup Overall Champion, 2008-2009 and 2007-2008 seasons
Jamie Greubel
Hailing from Newtown, PA, Jamie Greubel began the sport of bobsled as a brakeman in 2007 while in graduate school. Upon graduating with her master's in elementary education, Greubel devoted herself to bobsled full-time and made the national team in the 2008-2009 season. She transitioned from a brakeman to a pilot in 2010 after the World Cup season and made her World Cup debut in as a pilot in that same year. She loves Lake Placid for it's lakes, mountains and the bobsled track, and calls it home. Her favorite tracks are St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Lake Placid, and enjoys the track at Lake Placid because "It was the first track that I ever drove. It is fast and technical, even after many runs down the track, it is always a challenge!"
Favorite color: Turquoise because it reminds me of my mom
Favorite food: Greek food
Favorite athletic moment: Winning the state semi-final game in high school field hockey. I had a break away down the field in over-time, and I dove and shot the ball at the goal and scored. My teammates all rushed onto the field in celebration, everyone jumping into a big pile. We beat an undefeated team to win, and went on to claim the state title.
Pre-race ritual: Warm-up, listen to music, visualize the track, relax, 2 hand high five at the line with my brakeman, visor down, go fast!
Competition Highlights:
Finished 9th in the 2011 World Championships in Konigssee, Germany, competing as a brakeman
18th overall World ranking in the 2010-2011 season
3 top 15 finishes in 2010-2011 World Cup races
3rd overall America's Cup ranking in the 2010-2011 season
Elana Meyers
The native of Douglasville, GA, Elana Meyers began bobsled in 2007 and made the national team in the same season as a brakeman. In 2010, she won a bronze medal with pilot Erin Pac in the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Since then, Meyers has transitioned to the pilot seat and made her World Cup debut as a pilot in December 2010. She loves Lake Placid because of the great people who live there. Her favorite track is Whistler, where she won a bronze medal, and Winterberg, Germany. She loves the track in Lake Placid because of its technical difficulty, "If you can make it down here, you can make it down any track in the world! We are blessed to be able to learn here."
Favorite color: pink
Favorite food: buffalo wings and cheese fries- with real melted cheese not cheese sauce!
Favorite athletic moment: Standing the podium accepting my bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Pre-race ritual: Warm-up and rock out to music during, visualization of track lines, joke around a little with my brakeman, and pray
Competition Highlights:
2010 Olympic Bronze Medalist
Silver medalist in the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, NY
Finished 9th at the 2011 World Championships in Konigssee, Germany
Silver medalist at the 2011 Jr. World Championships in Park City, Utah
13th overall World Ranking in the 2010-2011 season
John Napier
A native of Schenectady, New York, started bobsled in 1994 at the age of 10, following in the footsteps of his father and mother. Napier's father, Bill, was a bobsled driver from the 1960s to the 1980s, while his mother, Betty, also piloted bobsleds. Napier loves Lake Placid because of the "Olympic vibe the town radiates." Although his favorite track is Altenberg, Germany, his favorite part of the track in Lake Placid is the "chicanes." Napier is also a soldier in the World Class Athlete Program and after the 2010 Olympics requested deployment where he served in Afghanistan for 6 months.
Favorite color: purple
Favorite food: cheeseburgers
Favorite athletic moment: When I won my first world cup medal in Lake Placid NY
Pre-race ritual: No ritual here, just faith God will steer me straight down the track.
Competition Highlights:
Competed in both the 4-man and 2-man disciplines in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, BC, where he finished 10th in the 2-man discipline
Finished 19th at the 2011 World Championships in the 4-man discipline in Konigssee, Germany
Finished 22nd at the 2011 World Championships in the 2-man discipline in Konigssee, Germany
11th overall World Ranking in 4-man in the 2010-2011 season
10th overall World Ranking in 2-man in the 2010-2011 season
Won his first World Cup Gold medal in 2-man in November 2009 at Lake Placid, NY
Katie Uhlaender
Katie Uhlaender, native of Breckenridge, CO, is a two-time Olympian in skeleton. She began the sport of skeleton in 2003, and quickly progressed to the national team in 2004. Uhlaender's favorite skeleton moment was winning a silver medal in the 2008 World Championships in Altenberg, Germany, where her father, former professional baseball player Ted Uhlaender, witnessed the event live. Although Uhlaender loves every track she slides, she particularly loves the track at Lake Placid because of devil's highway (curves 5, 6, and 7) because it's "where you get all your speed for the bottom."
Favorite color: All of them, I like skittles
Favorite food: beef
Favorite athletic moment: When I was 7, I had joined the boy's baseball team. We were receiving our team jerseys and I had two numbers I really wanted: 1 or 0. Not only did I not get those numbers, but I got the very LAST jersey from the box. It was about two sizes too big as well. I went home pouting. My father asked me what was wrong, and I said nothing. He finally got me to admit that I was disappointed in the number I got, and even more upset that the team had ignored me till there were none left. He saw my jersey, and pulled me in to the other room where he kept some of his old baseball stuff. He pulled out a photo of him when he played major league baseball and his number was 11, the same as mine. That was the start of it all.
Pre-race ritual: Show up to the race as late as possible ;)
Competition Highlights:
Finished 11th in the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada
Finished 6th in the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, Italy
2008 World Cup Champion
Silver medal at the 2008 World Championships in Altenberg, Germany
Finished 9th at the 2011 World Championships in Konigssee, Germany
Bree Schaaf
After competing as a skeleton athlete for four seasons, Bree Schaaf made the switch to bobsled in the 2006-2007 season. The 2010 Olympian and native of Bremerton, WA, first made the skeleton national team in 2003 and made the bobsled national team in 2007 after just a year of converting from bobsled to skeleton. Schaaf currently trains in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but enjoys Lake Placid because of its sense of community. "The town thrives on Olympic sports and Olympic sport enthusiasts and it is so much fun to compete in a place that truly appreciates us! The town and the training center are all so welcoming and generous. I also can't go without mentioning wing-night. I've only started eating hot wings in the last 2 years and it was Lisa G's that changed my life." Although her favorite track is Whistler due to it's speed and difficulty, she loves Lake Placid because it "demands respect…no matter how many runs you accumulate there, you never get comfortable. Just like a wild dog, you let your guard down or turn your back on it for a second and it will bite you!"
Favorite color: turquoise…for now
Favorite food: Churros
Favorite athletic moment: The day that I qualified for the 2010 Olympics in St. Moritz Switzerland. All Olympic seasons are tough, but this one was filled in particular with one setback after another. Pursuing my dream through all of that and getting to hug my brother (who got me into skeleton and was my biggest supporter) at the bottom after the race was the most unbelievable and emotional culmination to so much hard work and perseverance. I was so petrified for that final qualifying run that it wasn't until Emily Azevedo shook me and said "You're going to the OLYMPICS!" that it started to sink in and I broke down crying.
Pre-race ritual: This will sound a little weird, but in order to cope with the chaos of bobsled I have become dependent on something going wrong before a race. If you are too dependent on order and something goes wrong it will throw you off your game, so I have become dependent on disorder. Or at least a little something going wrong before each race somehow comforts me now.
Competition Highlights
Finished 5th at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada
Finished 10th at the 2011 World Championships in Konigssee, Germany
Finished 10th at the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, New York
8th overall World ranking in the 2010-2011 season
9th overall World ranking in the 2009-2010 season
