No regrets

Racine defends decision to dump Davidson

Jean Racine (right) selected former track star Gea Johnson as her new brakewoman. AP

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) -- Jean Racine's 20/15 eyesight has helped make her one of the world's top bobsled drivers. Tunnel vision will get her through the Olympics.

"I'm really trying to stay focused," she said Thursday.

It hasn't been easy. Not since Racine's mother died unexpectedly in May. Not after she fired her best friend and teammate, and not with her father facing trial for sexual misconduct.

"This has been really hard," she said.

Racine has been at the center of controversy since kicking Jen Davidson, her close friend and former brakewoman, off the U.S. team's No. 1 sled two months ago.

Widely criticized for making the move, Racine stands by the decision despite how much it may have tarnished her golden-girl image. She's sorry that it severed her friendship with Davidson and that it has cast women's bobsled -- making its Olympic debut at the Salt Lake City Games -- as just another cutthroat, win-at-all-costs sport.

But as for replacing Davidson with former track star Gea Johnson, Racine has no regrets.

"It was a very hard thing to do," she said. "There were moments where I thought, 'Yeah, I can bring my best friend to the Games. We could win. I could do it.' But that wouldn't have been right. So I made the change, and I'm very glad that I did it."

Racine decided to switch sliding partners -- a common practice in men's bobsled -- a week before the Olympic trials in December. She made the move although she and Davidson had been one of the top teams in the world. They won two World Cup titles, two world championships and 21 medals over the past four years.

Beyond that, the pair were as close off the track as they were on it.

Racine and Davidson were marketed as the "Glamour Girls" of the Salt Lake City Games. With their wholesome good looks, the endorsements poured in and they found themselves pitching everything from cereal to credit cards.

Nothing, it seemed, could stop them. Then Racine slammed on the brakes.

She had been thinking about dropping Davidson for some time, and she finalized her decision after finishing 11th in a November race.

"It was definitely a wakeup call for me," she said. "At that point, I had to question if I was even going to make the Olympic team."

Racine wasn't going to take any chances at fulfilling her 10-year dream of winning a gold medal, and she coldly delivered the news to Davidson with a phone message: Johnson was her new partner.

"I'm not going to let anything stop me from trying to win a medal," she said.

Davidson felt betrayed, said her friendship with Racine was over and filed a grievance, seeking a push-off. Late last month, she withdrew her demand after two days of testimony before an arbitrator.

Racine now wishes she had handled the aftermath of her decision differently.

"When I made the change, I decided not to say anything because I didn't feel it was a battle I could win," she said. "I just kind of let the media bash me a little bit."

Racine said she isn't bitter about having to endure the criticism, and she thinks she knows why she was portrayed as a villain.

"It had something to do with the way we were marketed," she said. "We were the team to beat. But before the marketing and before the money and all those things, there has to be performance and we weren't winning races, so changes had to be made."

The past nine months have been as harrowing for Racine as any bobsled course.

In May, her mother, Cathleen, died of a rare disease. Then three weeks ago, her father, David, was charged with sexual misconduct and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted at trial.

"It was just another thing thrown on the table for me, to see if I could handle it, and I think I am," she said. "I think everything will turn out fine in the end."

Meanwhile, she's trying to block out the distractions and focus on winning an Olympic medal.

"I think after what I've dealt with this year, the competition is going to be easiest part of it," she said.

 

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