British Bobsleigh Association
A superb second Lauf for Minichiello and Davies
20 February 2006
Day 17: Monday 20th February
All set up for a medal attempt tomorrow
(Daily Reports courtesy of The Winter Sports Agency)
There was a quiet calm as the camp stirred and began to prepare for the assault on the medals with Nicola and Jackie. The runners were finished last night thanks to Martin Wright and Karl Johnston - yet again.
The really good news is that Tom's repair to the brakes has worked and the girls should be able to stop tonight.
The girls slept in until nearly 10am then after morning meeting went to the sled shed to change some of the positions from Lee's setup.
There was a mix of emotions with the guys a bit down about their performance yesterday, while the girls didn't feel all that nervous. Jackie put that down to the belief that they had done everything they could have done to get this far and now all that was needed was a performance somewhere near their best.
Well the girls rated the first run as "not bad" considering that it was one off the fastest all week, but they knew it could be improved on. They studied the video of the run, Nic had a chat with the coaches, and Gomer Lloyd (the larger than life Welshman who now coaches the Canadian team) gave her some great advice.
The second run felt great and they moved up 2 places. They were really surprised however when they heard that it had been the fastest run of the heat by over 0.2 seconds.
So here's the bare facts:
1st Lauf
Start 5.23 - 3rd fastest
Finish 57.78 - 8th fastest
Deficit from leader +0.62
2nd Lauf
Start 5.25 - 2nd fastest
Finish 57.49 - 1st fastest
Position overall 6th
Deficit from leader +0.34
The girls were returned to the village on a high, knowing that if they do the same tomorrow they will be in a medal position. Watching the video of the second run felt fantastic, but the girls are always looking for improvements.
Finally a real treat - an ice bath to recover - which Jackie swears makes your legs feel like new.
Well, she swears, and she says it makes her legs feel like new...
There was a quiet calm as the camp stirred and began to prepare for the assault on the medals with Nicola and Jackie. The runners were finished last night thanks to Martin Wright and Karl Johnston - yet again.
The really good news is that Tom's repair to the brakes has worked and the girls should be able to stop tonight.
The girls slept in until nearly 10am then after morning meeting went to the sled shed to change some of the positions from Lee's setup.
There was a mix of emotions with the guys a bit down about their performance yesterday, while the girls didn't feel all that nervous. Jackie put that down to the belief that they had done everything they could have done to get this far and now all that was needed was a performance somewhere near their best.
Well the girls rated the first run as "not bad" considering that it was one off the fastest all week, but they knew it could be improved on. They studied the video of the run, Nic had a chat with the coaches, and Gomer Lloyd (the larger than life Welshman who now coaches the Canadian team) gave her some great advice.
The second run felt great and they moved up 2 places. They were really surprised however when they heard that it had been the fastest run of the heat by over 0.2 seconds.
So here's the bare facts:
1st Lauf
Start 5.23 - 3rd fastest
Finish 57.78 - 8th fastest
Deficit from leader +0.62
2nd Lauf
Start 5.25 - 2nd fastest
Finish 57.49 - 1st fastest
Position overall 6th
Deficit from leader +0.34
The girls were returned to the village on a high, knowing that if they do the same tomorrow they will be in a medal position. Watching the video of the second run felt fantastic, but the girls are always looking for improvements.
Finally a real treat - an ice bath to recover - which Jackie swears makes your legs feel like new.
Well, she swears, and she says it makes her legs feel like new...