 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
 |
Run as fast as the wind
Updated: Tuesday May 22, 2001 10:31 AM
Jen Davidson, 29, is one of the top brakemen in the world. The Utah native has paired with driver Jean Racine for the past three seasons to form a powerful bobsled team. For more on Davidson and Racine see bobsledgirl.com. The two-time World Cup champions are in the process of training for the 2002 Salt Lake Games. Check out Davidson's diary on CNNSI.com as she prepares for the Games.
May 17, 2001
It's hard to believe I'm starting my fourth year in the sport. I attended my first tryout during July of 1998. It was 102 degrees in Salt Lake City. It's ironic that it was the beginning of my winter sports career. I don't really even like snow and cold. If I could bobsled on the beach, I'd be all set.
I've had an Olympic dream since I was 5 years old. I remember telling the neighbor kids that I could run as fast as the wind. I'm not sure I knew what it meant to be an Olympian at that age, I just knew I wanted to be one. In 9th grade, I stood before my speech class and told them during my autobiography presentation that I was going to be in the Olympics. I remember saying that I didn't expect to be in Barcelona in '92. I honestly believed I'd be there in '96 though. Every school report, art project, or research paper I ever did had an Olympic theme. I'd study athletes, or venues, or the ancient Greek Games. I really don't know why I was so caught up in it. I ran 100 meter hurdles in college at Utah State University, just 90 minutes north of Salt Lake City. My career there was nothing spectacular. I was injured for most of it. But during the last few races of my senior year in 1996, things started to click. I won the conference championship and went on to the national championships. I just narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympic trials that year because the wind was over the allowable limit. It took me over four hours to peel of my uniform for the last time and come to grips with the fact that I wouldn't be racing in the Games in Atlanta. For all intents and purposes my athletic career was over. I "retired" from competition and completed a Master's degree in 1998. As I sat in my living room watching the winter Olympics in Nagano, I realized that I had to find a way to participate when the Games came to my hometown. I watched every sport that came on TV, hoping to find one that I could learn within the next four years. One of my coworkers suggested I try bobsled. At the time, I figured that I was just wrapped up in all the Olympic hype. I told myself to give it a year and if I still had the fever, I'd allow myself the chance to try. Later that summer I saw an ad in the Salt Lake paper advertising open tryouts for the team. I figured it was a sign and trained for three days prior to the tryout. I barely scored the minimum points I needed to get invited to the next camp. Then I trained for eight weeks and traveled to Lake Placid, New York for the push championships. Before I'd even seen a sled in real life, I had a spot on the national team. Never in my wildest dreams as a 5-year-old did I imagine that I'd have achieved the success that Jean and I have enjoyed. Never did I imagine that I'd rocket down a tube of ice at 85 miles per hour with 4-5 times the force of gravity pressing down on my back. Never did I imagine I'd have the opportunity to represent my country the first time my sport is included in the Olympics. It's all a bit overwhelming. I'm not the biggest brakeman on the international tour. I'm not the strongest brakeman on the tour. I may not even be the fastest brakeman on the tour. But I know that no one is working harder than me on the tour. I have an amazing opportunity in front of me, and I'm so glad I found the courage to follow the dream of a kindergartner racing the wind. 268 days to go. Catch the Speed! -- Jen
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
