[Nfbmo] USA Bobsled driver

[Bryan Schulz]

Feb 27, 2010
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100227/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_bob_four_man_bobsled
'Night Train' gives US 1st 4-man gold since 1948 ...
By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds, Ap Sports Writer - Sat Feb 27, 6:45 pm ET
WHISTLER, British Columbia - 
With one more perfect run down sliding's most difficult track, Steven Holcomb drove USA-1 to the Olympic gold medal in four-man bobsledding on Saturday, ending a 62-year drought  for the Americans in the event.
It was the first gold medal for the U.S. in sliding's signature race since Francis Tyler won one for the Americans at St. Moritz in 1948.

Holcomb's four-run time was 3 minutes, 24.46 seconds, with Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curt Tomasevicz pushing for him again - just as they did in winning the world championship a year ago.

"This is bigger," U.S. coach Brian Shimer said.
There might not be any comparison whatsoever.
German Andre Lange, who failed to win a gold medal for the first time in five Olympic events, had a nearly perfect final run to win the silver in what he says will be his final race. Lange finished 0.38 seconds behind Holcomb and his team of Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curt Tomasevicz.
Lyndon Rush drove Canada-1 to the bronze.

Holcomb and his sledmates crossed the finish line one more time and threw their arms in the air before wrapping each other in American flags. Holcomb hoisted his helmet high as family and friends craned for photographs, and a party that the U.S. program had been waiting 62 years for was finally getting started.

"It's huge," said USA-3 driver Mike Kohn, who finished 13th. "This is a great moment. It's hopefully going to change the program and bring some publicity and some funding to this sport, just like it did in '02 when we won silver and bronze."

Kohn was a push athlete for Brian Shimer's sled at those 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, when Todd Hays drove to silver and Shimer got the Americans a bronze.
The U.S. had never been closer to being kings of the bobsled mountain - until now.

What it didn't say ...
Ex-NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine has been working on providing the U.S. team with competetive sleds for at least ten years and Holcomb said during a television interview Before the medal clinching run that his career was almost abruptly ended in 2008 when a degenerative cornea condition lead to blindness and his coach suggested a surgical procedure so new that it hadn't been approved by the FDA.
A type of contact lens was inserted behind the iris and the procedure resulted in 20/20 vision.
Unfortunately, it seems that the NFB doesn't want to discuss cures and research as I can't remember any medical professional speaking at our convention and the thought of inviting someone to speak was quickly rejected at the 2009 September or January board meeting!

Bryan Schulz