12/22/24
February 20, 2002
History made in Women's Bobsled. (story) (results) Did karma bite 'Mean' Jean Racine in the butt, or in her pusher's hamstring? MORE INSIDE
It looked like Racine's start times really put her in a hole and she managed to cut down the time with her driving. Is it true what I've heard, that Flowers was the first African-American *ever* to win a Gold at the winter games? On another note, the Americans' Bo-Dyn sleds seem so much more aerodynamic (at least aesthetically) than the bulbous sleds the other countries had. I wonder how much it helped and why other countries aren't coming up with new sled designs (well obviously, the other countries are probably making minor tweaks, but the shape remains the same).
posted by gyc at 02:33 AM on February 20, 2002
Why is MSNBC printing the medal table with USA at the top, when it should be Norway?
posted by salmacis at 05:06 AM on February 20, 2002
I could make a snarky comment about Jean Racine being from Waterford, MI, but instead, I'll confine myself to commenting upon what a wonderful moment it was for Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers. Because it was truly wonderful to see a completely underrated and mostly ignored team (by the US media) win the gold medal. According to NBC last night, Vonetta Flowers is the first African American woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Games. I didn't go fact check them, but I would think they'd have those sorts of facts at their disposal (especially since the airing of the women's bobsled was pre-recorded and if they were wrong, those references could have been edited out).
posted by eilatan at 07:51 AM on February 20, 2002
salmacis, the medal table I see has Germany at the top, because they have the highest number of all medals combined. Norway does have the most gold, but only places 3rd in the overall count. The story also states flatly that she is not just the first African-American, but the first black athlete from /any/ country to medal at the Winter Olympics. Given the propensity of medaling nations from the northern European nations, this isn't all that surprising -- but it's about time that door was kicked down.
posted by lakefxdan at 11:00 PM on February 20, 2002
lakefxdan: The IOC keep an official medal table, and hand it out to the media and broadcasters. That table lists by golds first, then silvers and then bronzes. That is the table published everywhere else. I just wonder why the American media are using a different table?
posted by salmacis at 04:11 AM on February 21, 2002
It does seem like the fix is in, though why they bother is anyone's guess. Newspapers in Norway and Germany and Sweden and Switzerland order it by Golds. All the US sites order it by total medals (ESPN, CBS Sportsline, Olympics.com). Even Yahoo! US and Yahoo! Germany do it different from each other. All told, it just moves the US from 2nd to 3rd. Interesting that if the US wins another Gold, they could be on top of the table used everywhere else, but not the table used here.
posted by Smackfu at 09:30 AM on February 21, 2002
I didn't know this but Sir Bob just confirmed it -- Jean Racine had called Vonetta Flowers on Sunday and wanted to practice together, ostensibly a veiled request that Flowers abandon Bakken and ride with Racine instead, to which Flowers replied that she was happy with Bakken and loyal to her teammate. What a world-class wench, that Racine. Win at all costs? Stab your American teammates in the back, all of them? Unbelievable. Again, so glad it was Bakken and Flowers on that podium, and Racine had to sit by the wayside and see where her attempts at treachery got her.
posted by evixir at 08:15 PM on February 21, 2002
Evixir -- there was an article on MeFi about Racine (on dial-up, or I'd look it up), and the columnist was congratulating her for having the guts to remove her friend for a faster pusher. He said something to the extent of, "this is the Olympics, not a sorority." I agree that she doesn't seem like a nice person, but where is the line drawn between professionalism & friendship?
posted by jennak at 10:37 AM on February 22, 2002
Driver Jill Bakken and brakewoman/pusher Vonetta Flowers won the gold medal in the inaugural Olympic running of women’s two-person bobsled. No U.S. bobsled team had won gold for 46 years, and Vonetta Flowers becomes the first African-American to win winter Olympic gold. But the intrigue, or “soap opera” as NBC put it, is that the USA-2 Bakken/Flowers team came into the games “under the radar”, vastly overshadowed by the USA-1 team of Jean Racine and Gea Johnson. Racine is the driver who dumped her friend and teammate Jen Davidson just before team selection in December. Racine and Davidson were highly promoted and very camera-friendly. Racine’s new teammate, Gea Johnson, had a bad hamstring today, and the Racine/Johnson team had a fifth place finish.