[1]WHISTLER, British Columbia (BP)–U.S. bobsledders Erin Pac and Elana Meyers are in second place after the first two heats in the women’s bobsled competition at the Winter Olympics.
Pac and Meyers set a track record in their second run of 53.05 seconds, a mark which was quickly surpassed by Canadians Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse, who sit in first place halfway through the event.
“It was pretty amazing to come out at the Olympic Games and have a track record,” Meyers said. “It was super exciting. I was more worried about the weight because we were a little close on the weight, but it was amazing to have it for a brief second and I think we can take it back tomorrow.”
The combined time of Pac and Meyers over two heats was 1:46.33, just .13 seconds behind Humphries and Moyse.
“I placed third in the test event here last year, so I knew that I had a good chance of being up here again,” Pac said. “Being slow in practice, you never know what’s going to happen, but Elana actually won last year, so I have some good luck with me.”
Pac and Meyers, featured in Tuesday’s BP, are both Christians who say they compete for God’s glory. For Meyers, her faith in Christ allows her to keep the sport in the proper perspective.
[2]“When I have a bad day in bobsled, I can remember that sport is something that God has allowed me to do, but it’s only one part of my life, and it’s a small part,” she said. “But it also humbles me, because I bobsled for the glory of God. Just having that as a constant reminder and knowing that I’m doing this for a greater purpose is rather humbling.”
The final two heats in the competition are set to begin at 7 p.m. Central time tonight.
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Tim Ellsworth, director of news and media relations at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., is covering the 2010 Olympics for Baptist Press. For additional BP stories from the Winter Olympics, go to http://www.bpnews.net/BPCollectionNews.asp?ID=166. For Tim Ellsworth’s Olympics blog, go to http://www.bpnews.net/blog/.