U.S. earns seven medals in first Youth Olympic Games qualification races
(USBSF Press Release)
PARK CITY, Utah (Nov. 11 2011)-The first ever Winter Youth Olympic Games is just 63 days away. The event will take place from January 13-22 at the Olympic Sliding Center in Igls, Austria, and athletes must participate in a minimum of three qualification races in order to be eligible to compete. The first series of qualification races took place in conjunction with the America’s Cup event in Park City, Utah from Nov. 9-10, where the U.S. youth team claimed three gold, one silver and three bronze medals over two days of racing.
Codie Bascue (Whitehall, N.Y.) teamed with Jake Peterson (Princeton, Minn.) in the two-man bobsled event to win double gold. The 17-year-olds dominated both competitions from start to finish. Bascue and Peterson won the first race by 1.98 seconds with a combined time of 1:41.08 seconds, and extended that lead to win the second competition by 2.79 seconds with a two-run total of 1:40.79.
“It feels great to get the first qualification races out of the way and it feels even better to have won both of them,” Bascue said. “My goal for this season is to win my last two qualification races and then do well in the last America’s Cup races in Calgary and Lake Placid.”
Bascue and Peterson are both emerging pilots in the U.S. program and are competing in one sled for the Youth Olympic Games. While normally competitors, Bascue and Peterson have teamed together with the same goal in mind.
“We hope to win Youth Olympic Games gold,” Bascue said.
Elizabeth Maxwell (Draper, Utah) collected gold and silver in her first women’s skeleton qualification races. The 16-year-old led the field by 1.15 seconds in the first race with a combined time of 1:45.66. Maxwell was in the lead after the first run of the second competition, but fell back to Carli Brockway of Canada by 0.21 seconds to earn silver with a two-run total of 1:44.69.
“I was so excited to compete in the first international race of my career,” Maxwell said. “It was great being able to see athletes from all around the world who all have passion for the same sport. I was a bit anxious at first, but I kept telling myself to relax.”
Maxwell, like Bascue and Peterson, is eager to succeed this season by bringing home gold from Igls.
“My ultimate goal for this season is to be able to represent the United States at the Youth Olympic Games this January, and to show the world that the United States is still a force to be reckoned with in the sport of skeleton,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell’s teammate Timi Earl (Heber City, Utah) also had a strong showing with two bronze medal performances. Earl slid a combined time of 1:48.19 in the first race and made gains in the second competition with a total of 1:47.25.
Anthony Herringshaw (Fort Plain, N.Y.) finished fifth in the first men’s skeleton event, but the young emerging slider moved into third position on the second day to claim bronze with a two-run total of 1:44.59.
The U.S. did not have any youth women’s bobsled entrants. Youth Olympic Games qualification races will continue with the America’s Cup tour in Calgary, Canada next week.
