ST. MORITZ, Switzerland - Mike Kohn of the Virginia National Guard needed to finish at least 14th in today's World Cup competition in St. Moritz, Switzerland to qualify in four-man bobsled at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Kohn went above and beyond, finishing sixth to add his name to the roster for his first Olympic berth as a driver.
"This was one of the best experiences I've had in this sport," said Kohn, who won the 2002 Olympic bronze medal as a push athlete with Brian Shimer. "Winning an Olympic medal was amazing, but it doesn't compare to the team camaraderie felt over these last few weeks. The Olympics is about more than winning medals, and this experience is one I'll remember for the rest of my life."
Along with Kohn, John Napier of the Vermont National Guard and Steven Holcomb, a former Utah National Guardsman, will lead four-man bobsled teams in the Olympics. Shauna Rohbock of the Utah National Guard is the top female bobsledder in the world rankings and will lead the U.S. women's bobsled team at Vancouver.
Kohn teamed with Jamie Moriarty, Bill Schuffenhauer and Nick Cunningham to tie Canadian Pierre Lueders for sixth place with a combined time of two minutes, 10.85 seconds.
"What an awesome day," said Kohn. "Jamie, Bill and Nick were so fired up. They had tears in their eyes before we got to the line, and the entire team was behind them. There were so many people at the start and finish encouraging us."
Team Kohn combined forces for a push time of 5.20 seconds before snaking their way down the natural-made course in one minute, 5.77 seconds. The team was in fifth position going into the second heat. USA III burst off the blocks in 5.17 seconds for a second run of 1:05.08, moving the team into sixth.
Only three nations are qualified to enter three sleds into the 2010 Olympics. Just three months ago the U.S. team was on target to qualify three sleds with Steven Holcomb, John Napier and Todd Hays. Kohn was competing on the America's Cup circuit with a distant hope of qualifying before a career-ending head injury forced Hays into retirement and thrust Kohn into contention.
"During the America's Cup races in Park City, Utah I almost hung it up," said Kohn. "Todd was beating me and I thought it would be impossible to qualify and I realized my Olympic dream as a driver wasn't going to happen. Then all of a sudden I was given another chance. It wasn't the way I wanted to get another chance, but I was grateful for the opportunity. I can't thank Todd enough for his help and support over the last few weeks in helping our team. He's been a huge part of my success."
Kohn finished 11th yesterday with World Champion push athlete Curt Tomasevicz to qualify in the two-man event, and can now add 2010 Olympian to his sliding resume in four-man.
"Curt is a good man, and in my opinion the best brakeman the U.S. team has ever had," said Kohn. "When your brakeman is a former football player from Nebraska, you know you have some heart in your sled."
Tomasevicz joined his 2009 four-man bobsled World Championship teammates Justin Olsen and Steve Mesler to push Steven Holcomb, a former Utah National Guard member, into fourth place today.
Team Holcomb burst off the starting block in 5.13 and 5.11 seconds for runs of 1:05.80 and 1:04.78, respectively. The Night Train crew finished one-tenth of a second from the medals with a combined time of 2:10.58.
"Results in St. Moritz comes down to the draw," said Holcomb. "Because it's a natural track the ice actually gets faster after the first ten sleds. Having a higher start number is normally an advantage, and this is the only track where it hurts you. We didn't medal, but we know we're still fast."
Holcomb's four-man team proved they are a force to be reckoned with after winning the world title last season in Lake Placid, N.Y. The BoDyn Bobsled Project, Inc. teamed with Jostens to create a championship ring, which was presented to the team yesterday.
"It was definitely unexpected," said Holcomb. "I thought they were pulling us over at the start to do an interview, but then they presented us with these amazing rings. It was awesome. I'm usually made fun of for wearing rings, but everyone said I'm allowed to wear this one. I earned it."
The team is one race away from adding four-man bobsled World Cup champions to their growing list of achievements leading into the 2010 Olympics.
"We are all proud of the fact that Team Holcomb provided the United States with the first four-man bobsled World Championship title in fifty years," said Phil Kurze, President of the BoDyn Bobsled Project. "Thanks to our friends at Jostens the athletes will be able to remember this accomplishment with the iconic symbol of athletic achievement, a champions ring."
Napier, a junior pilot, is on pace to collect his own title; Napier is ranked second behind Holcomb in overall four-man bobsled World Cup points. Teamed with Chuck Berkeley, Steve Langton and Chris Fogt, Napier finished11th with a two-run total of 2:11.23. Team Napier posted start times of 5.14 and 5.15 seconds for runs of 1:06.07 and 1:05.16, respectively.
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The U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (USBSF) announced its 2010 Winter Olympic Games nominations for men's bobsled Jan. 18.
"We had a very difficult decision to make regarding our men's Olympic team because of the depth of our push athletes," said Darrin Steele, USBSF chief executive officer. "In the end we went with the teams that pushed together today. You can't argue with the results, because Holcomb's team is ranked first in the world, Napier's team is ranked second in the world, and Kohn's team finished sixth in today's World Cup event to secure his Olympic qualification. We are very excited about this Olympic team in all disciplines."
The U.S. has qualified three sleds in both two and four-man bobsled events, and the following teams have been selected to compete:
USA I:
Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah)
Justin Olsen (San Antonio, Texas)
Steve Mesler (Buffalo, N.Y.)
Curt Tomasevicz (Shelby, Neb.)
USA II:
John Napier (Lake Placid, N.Y.)
Chuck Berkeley (Clayton, Calif.)
Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.)
Chris Fogt (Alpine, Utah)
USA III:
Mike Kohn (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Jamie Moriarty (Winnetka, Ill.)
Bill Schuffenhauer (Orem, Utah)
Nick Cunningham (Monterey, Calif.)
Two-man bobsled combinations were also announced today. Holcomb will compete with Tomasevicz, Napier will partner with Langton, and Kohn's two-man specialist is still to be announced.
The U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation has also announced its women's bobsled nominations for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Pending official announcement from the international federation regarding nation quotas for the Olympics, the U.S. will be entering the following three sleds:
USA I: Shauna Rohbock (Utah National Guard) and Michelle Rzepka (Novi, Mich.)
USA II: Erin Pac (Farmington, Conn.) and Elana Meyers (Douglasville, Ga.)
USA III: Bree Schaaf (Bremerton, Wash.) and Emily Azevedo (Chico, Calif.)
"We are thrilled to be sending our best U.S. women's team ever to Whistler," said Darrin Steele, U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation chief executive officer. "The selection committee had to make some very difficult decisions regarding the push athletes chosen to the team. Our deep pool of talented athletes is what makes us hard to beat."