Germans take gold and silver, while USA takes 3rd and 4th in women’s World Cup bobsled opener

Germans go 1-2, USA goes 3-4 in women’s bobsled

PARK CITY, Utah — Shauna Rohbock’s night was forgettable. Erin Pac and Bree Schaaf both had a reason to smile.

And together, the U.S. women’s bobsled team showed it’ll contend this Olympic season.

Pac teamed with Michelle Rzepka to finish third in the World Cup season opener Friday, their two-run time of 1 minute, 40.32 seconds down the 2002 Olympic track topped by two sleds from the powerful German program. Cathleen Martin and Romy Logsch took gold in 1:39.92, followed by reigning Olympic gold medalist Sandra Kiriasis and Berit Wiacker, who were second in 1:40.12.

Schaaf and brakeman Ingrid Marcum were fourth in 1:40.43, as the U.S. was the lone nation with three women’s sleds in the top nine.

“It’s awesome,” Schaaf said. “You plan on doing well, and it’s still always a great surprise. As much as you plan, plan, plan, when it follows through and comes together, it feels so good.”

Pac matched her best World Cup finish. She won bronze last season in Whistler, the site of this year’s sliding competition at the Vancouver Games.

“We wanted to come in here and make a name for ourselves this year,” Pac said. “I think this gives us a lot of confidence as a team.”

Rohbock probably didn’t come away with that same confidence.

She teamed with Valerie Fleming to win the Olympic silver medal at Turin in 2006, and they were together again Friday — for exactly one run. Fleming injured her hamstring just minutes before their second run, and Emily Azevedo was quickly summoned to fill in on less than 10 minutes notice.

When Rohbock crossed the line after that second run, she tossed her helmet 15 yards up the icy track in frustration. A ninth-place start to the season wasn’t exactly what she had in mind.

“I think my motto will be, ‘It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,’” Rohbock said.

It was Rohbock’s first competitive race of the season. She was exempt from team trials, and U.S. coach Brian Shimer suggested that could have been a factor for the slow start to her year.

“The other girls were more in race mode, I think,” Shimer said.

Fleming said she wasn’t sure of the preliminary diagnosis; trainers on site suggested it could be anywhere from a cramp to a pull, and further examination is likely.

If nothing else, her status for next weekend’s race at Lake Placid is shaky at best.

“If I did worse, then pretty much the Olympic dream is over,” Fleming said. “So I felt like I might as well take it easy, and I didn’t want to hurt anything in terms of how Shauna was doing. Emily stepped in and did an awesome job.”

Fleming left with a limp. Marcum left with a heavy heart.

She decided to race Friday, despite learning 24 hours earlier that a close friend died unexpectedly, leaving behind a husband and three children. Marcum wrote the friend’s name on her wrist.

“I just wanted to do what I could,” Marcum said. “It’s hard not to be there for her family right now. I can’t be there, but I raced in her honor, had her on my wrist and took her with me.”