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Skeleton: head first, face down, hands back, 85 mph sport on intestine shaped bobsled tracks around the world. Wind whipping over speed suit clad bodies, teeth chattering one inch above speeding ice, and the sound of steel on unforgiving ice. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines skeleton as: n 1: bony supporting framework of an animal body; 2: a bare minimum. Stripped from material existence, skeleton only allows the soul, senses, heart and spirit to soar. The bare minimum. How could you not be addicted to something that challenges everything that makes you… YOU!?
I began sliding bobsled in 1999, as a 17-year old teenager seeking an open door to my aggressive attitude yet poetic spirit. The steering rings of the bobsled felt natural. Like rock music at the start, I was able to be aggressive and fast. Slowing to classical music once in the sled, I was able to melt into the fiberglass frame and dance the graceful curves of this long iced sheet of music. Unexpectedly, I was beating the best drivers from previous years. 1999 Empire State Games I walked away with the women’s overall title, AND the overall title. The men proceeded to glare at me with suspicious eyes as I stood above them on the podium. The list continued to grow throughout the year: 1999 junior national push champion, 2nd place in the Team Extreme race, and defending my Empire State Games title again in 2000.
National team coaches took note of my development, and I was invited to train with the national team. Three times a week, my mom would pick me up from classes at Shenedehowa High School, drive the beautiful 2 ½ hour stretch of road to Lake Placid so I could train with the team, and then drive the 2 ½ hour trip home so I could attend school the following morning. Things were moving quickly, and my desire to be an Olympian grew hotter each day.
An unexpected bobsled crash as a brake person tore the retinas of both eyes and I suffered a severe concussion. The following year, while attending Hudson Valley Community College, was spent in and out of the hospital having my eyes corrected. Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye soon meant little to me. Stick a needle in my eye!? Done that. Too many times to even remember. Stitches became an annoying accessory to my eye, as well as eye drops, IV's, and cold hands. I even learned how to make a hospital gown look fashionable. Blue is my color anyway. And I had a great excuse for buying colorful and loud underwear now that I had an audience to see them.
Returning to the ice was a spiritual moment for me. A new track had been built in Lake Placid, and my coach insisted that we all slide skeleton for a few runs to learn the track before sliding down in an 800-pound bobsled. Watching these kamikaze athletes whiz by on a sliver of a sled sent my stomach into swirls. But I was excited to take the challenge.
I swear I had my eyes open the entire run, but I didn’t see a thing. Reaching the finish dock, I jumped from the skeleton sled, grabbing onto Coach Hass and screaming that this was IT. I had found my open door. There’s a long hallway to the Olympics, but I can see the Olympics in my grasp. I taste it everyday while I train.
This site is intended to enlighten you on the chilling sport of skeleton. On this site, you will find: a description of the sport and sled; this season’s schedule; the 2002 Winter Olympic results in Salt Lake City (my boyfriend, Martin Rettl, placed 2nd!); my diary from the 2002 mandatory summer training camp and push competition in Lake Placid, NY (with pictures); my resume; and a page of links for more information, which I highly recommend you browse through.