British Bobsleigh Association
Britain's Women Win World Championships
21 February 2009
Britain's Nicola Minichiello and Gillian Cooke have won the 2009 Women's World Bobsleigh Championships at Lake Placid after beating Shauna Rohbock's American team by 0.38 seconds
Minichiello and Cooke finished the four Championship runs in a total of 3 minutes 48.22 seconds and were fastest in all but one of the runs over the 2-day competition.
This result followed the bronze medal the team won in the FIBT World Cup last week, having clocked up one silver and two gold medals over the 8-race international circuit.
The result, the best ever for a British Women's team, was the first win a British team had achieved in this competition since the pairing of Anthony Nash and Robin Dixon back in the 1965 World Championships.
Former heptathlete Minichiello, who has been competing since 2001, was paired with Cooke who was making her debut in the Championships. Cooke, a highly decorated Scottish athlete was headhunted by Minichiello last year and went straight into the GB1 sled as a brakewoman along with the experienced Jackie Gunn. A decision which few could argue has paid off.
Minichiello told the Associated Press: "I really felt going into here that this track is such a magical track that it could have been anybody's day, and it was, It's fantastic. It's great for my country. I'm so glad."
Performance Coordinator, Mark Carter, congratulated the team on the fantastic result, and on behalf of the Board of Directors, thanked Coaches Gomer Lloyd and Peter Gunn for their efforts.
Former World Champions Cathleen Martini and Janine Tischer of Germany took the bronze.
This result followed the bronze medal the team won in the FIBT World Cup last week, having clocked up one silver and two gold medals over the 8-race international circuit.
The result, the best ever for a British Women's team, was the first win a British team had achieved in this competition since the pairing of Anthony Nash and Robin Dixon back in the 1965 World Championships.
Former heptathlete Minichiello, who has been competing since 2001, was paired with Cooke who was making her debut in the Championships. Cooke, a highly decorated Scottish athlete was headhunted by Minichiello last year and went straight into the GB1 sled as a brakewoman along with the experienced Jackie Gunn. A decision which few could argue has paid off.
Minichiello told the Associated Press: "I really felt going into here that this track is such a magical track that it could have been anybody's day, and it was, It's fantastic. It's great for my country. I'm so glad."
Performance Coordinator, Mark Carter, congratulated the team on the fantastic result, and on behalf of the Board of Directors, thanked Coaches Gomer Lloyd and Peter Gunn for their efforts.
Former World Champions Cathleen Martini and Janine Tischer of Germany took the bronze.