PARK CITY, Utah–No one had really given former Corvallis resident Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers a chance. They weren’t even supposed to be the best U.S. team. “A lot of people saw us as the ‘other’ team,” Flowers said. “We came here to prove people wrong.”
That they did, winning the inaugural women’s bobsled Tuesday night by beating the favored Germans and the much-hyped Jean Racine in the other American sled.
The victory by USA-2 ended a 46-year drought for the United States. America had not won an Olympic bobsled medal since Arthur Tyler took the four-man bronze in 1956 and had not won gold since his brother, Francis, won the four-man in 1948.
There was also an Olympic landmark–the 28-year-old Flowers became the first black ever to win a gold medal at a Winter Games.
“Hopefully, this will encourage other African-American boys and girls to give winter sports a try because you don’t see too many of them out there,” she said.
The former college track star once had other Olympic dreams, but two knee operations and ankle surgery dashed those hopes.
“I have truly been blessed to come into this sport and pick it up so fast,” said Flowers said, unable to stop crying. “My goal was to make the Summer Olympics. God had a different plan for me.”
Bakken, 25, attended Oregon State University in the fall of 1996 and competed on the women’s soccer team as a defender. She played in 16 games and started in nine, said Travis Lahman, OSU spokesman.
Bakken left OSU before graduating to move to Utah to prepare for the Olympics, school officials said. She graduated from Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, Wash.
Sandra Prokoff and Ulrike Holzner won the silver in Germany–1 while compatriots Susi Erdmann and Nicole Herschmann took the bronze. Racine and Gea Johnson finished fifth.
“I think I’m going to be looking back at this for a long time,” Racine said.
In December, Bakken and Racine faced the same quandary: Both needed a new brakewoman to push their sleds.
Racine dumped her best friend and chose Johnson, a muscular former heptathlete from Arizona; Bakken took Flowers, who once ran track at UAB and didn’t try bobsledding until after she failed to qualify for the U.S. team headed for the 2000 Summer Olympics.
“I don’t even know what to feel,” Bakken said. “It’s amazing.”
Even more amazing were the 11th-hour antics of Racine after Johnson injured her left hamstring Saturday night.
After the race, Racine said she had asked Flowers over the weekend to consider changing sleds. Flowers declined.