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Bobsledder Davidson suffers new rejection
Dumped first by Racine, she isn't picked by Warner
Associated Press
Women's bobsled pilot Bonny Warner has decided not to pick up Jen Davidson for the Olympic Trials in Park City this week and instead will team with first-year brakewoman Bethany Hart.
Davidson, of Layton, was dropped by four-year partner Jean Racine last week.
Warner was the top U.S. pilot at the start of the season but started to slump, and her partner Gea Johnson teamed with Racine.
Davidson and Hart held a push-off Sunday. Davidson won with starts of 5.66, 5.66 and 5.65 seconds. Hart's pushes were 5.72, 5.70 and 5.71.
But Warner chose Hart because the two had worked together earlier in the season, and Davidson and Warner felt they could not put together a competitive start with just two days of training before the trials.
Their timing was off badly when they raced in a World Cup on Saturday in Calgary, Alberta, and they finished seventh.
"Obviously, I was the fastest girl, but there are serious timing issues at the start (with Warner)," Davidson said.
"I only know one start and only practiced one with Jean to make it perfect. It's completely different from what Bonny does. Bonny was honest and open from the beginning. Bonny and I could be a great team if we had one more week to get ready," she said.
Less than a month ago, Davidson was pondering when to sign with a major athletic company and enjoying a half-million dollars in sponsorships she and Racine had garnered as Olympic favorites.
"It's all I can do to make it through the next hour right now," she said Monday.
"I'm more thankful now that I get to carry the (Olympic) torch (on Feb. 7). . . . It's just really hard, but I have to try and step back and appreciate every part of it I did get to enjoy," she said.
"I started my Olympic countdown with 750 days to go and I got to appreciate about 700 of those," she said.
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December 18, 2001
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