Top of The World

Draped in crisp, white satin sheets – larger than life mountain ranges surrounded our winding route to Switzerland.



Through Germany and then Austria – every crevasse and peak glimmered with crystal clarity in the picturesque afternoon sunshine. 

I don’t think I could have asked for a better location to host my very first World Championships. And in true form with the bulk of my season – I was full to the brim with excitement … and grounded by a deep desire to achieve incredible results. 

19 corners of hand-cut,  pulled straight from the nearby Lake, ice. More than 68 seconds of smooth, glistening , awe-inspiring challenges. 



















Welcome to St. Moritz-Celerina: the birthplace of sliding sports.


 
With eight World Cup races under my belt, I came into the latest new-to-me track with a renewed sense of wonder. When I got to the bottom of my very first run, I had fallen in love with Skeleton all over.


“Okay, I wanna go again!!” I proclaimed at the finish dock as British slider, Ed Smith gave me a congratulatory high-five. 


World Championships are raced in a two-day, four-heat format (just as it is in the Olympic Games). All sleds get three runs and heat number four is for the top 20 (based on your three-heat combined-time). This was my first of such formatted races, on the international circuit. 

Heats 1, 2 and 3 showed that I had done a great deal of review and lots of visualizing through those mere 6 allotted training runs.  Heats 1, 2 and 3 also featured mistakes. Mistakes that cost me more speed than I could give away and consequentially, time I wasn’t looking to part with . To that same point, a self-inflicted deficit at the start hindered my downtime potential. This is not to say my pushes were no good – I have really committed to making every single attempt off the block a solid one — but, with that said – I didn’t push in the realm at which I know I am capable.  Even with a tenth of a second better than I set off in training, I was well behind the top starters. 

In the Leader’s Box at the end of Day 1

Heats 1, 2 and 3 placed me in 11th.

Warming up for the fourth and final heat on day 2, I acknowledged and accepted that I was in a proverbial Russian sandwich. With all 4 of their sleds within as little at 0.03 and as much as 0.30 – whomever had their best run could make a jump into the top 10 or vise versa — fall back.


Stepping to the line – my mind was clear; my energy intense.


I could hear Duff, Kelly, Leah, Nathan and the entire crew encouraging me; that mixed with the muffled announcement that the scheduled commercial break was about to finish.

I gazed down the start ramp as I heard my name called.  

I pulled one final breath of fresh air … deep into my lungs. Filling every inch of my back and puffing up my chest.


Track was clear. 


I exhaled. 


“Ready to go!” The announcer yelled.

Boom – my legs engaged off the block. My left arm swung out in front and then behind as my toes slammed  into the crisp ground over and over.

I navigated the kinks with a glimmer in my eye. A nice entrance into Wall and I felt like I was ready to put together the run I’d been searching for all week. The snake curves weren’t as clean and I let my entry get away entering sunny. Nash and Dixon presented another check point but I reacted as required. “Don’t panic” I heard my brain whisper. Into horseshoe I took lots of height and exited with ease.

2013 World Championships Women’s Top 3

The bottom sorted itself out and I heard the whistle of the cool air and felt Phrixus practically hovering above the surface as we shot into the bottom left hand curves.

Crossing the finish line I yelled in my helmet “Come on!!!” 
Crashed into the mat and took a moment to gather my thoughts.

And … Although it would be my best run to date, that day, it would not be enough.

Watching my teammates complete their final runs I was filled with an incredible amount of pride. To see Mel move up into 5th and Sarah lay down a great performance to take the Bronze medal – reminded me just how great this season really has been; how our women’s team is full of amazing ability and our potential as a unit is only just gaining speed for when the best of our best will truly be demanded


I would complete my inaugural World Championships in 12th overall.

Looking back on heat 4 I’m sure it could be speculated that I wanted it too badly? …. Or maybe I didn’t want it badly enough? But ‘what ifs’ aside, every time we talk about all this I feel like it sounds too much like excuses – I am still in an intense state of development – trying new routines; despite the sea of variables – and as far as I am concerned, I went out to do my job: to push as fast as I could and drive the best lines possible. Adjusting accordingly to every challenge and race the clock with everything I had. And? I did just that.

“Are you pleased?” I have been asked more than a few times.

“Yes and no,” has been my standard reply.

In my most honest opinion though,  part of me is proud (and hyper aware of just how much I achieved); the other part of me was reaching for better.

I struggle to just accept that I’m new. I know that comparing myself to anyone with years and years more experience than me still needs to be done with true understanding but by setting my own bar higher and higher it makes me a better athlete. Sure, it also means sometimes (likely, more often than not) that bar will be knocked down – but with unwavering resolve, I press on to clear that height and then … I raise it again.

Soaring above the Black Sea as our chartered Air Hamburg A320 began its decent into Sochi I consciously reminded myself to make every moment count …

Two weeks remaining.

One week will be spent training – getting in as many runs as we can. Learning, talking, testing. All in preparation for the 2014 Olympic Games.

Week two will be dedicated to adding in the element of an instant race! World Cup race #9 will take place February 15th for the men and February 16th for us gals. 


Be sure to tune in to check out the next Olympic track first hand and of course, cheer us on through computer screens everywhere!!

For the first time this season we will ALL (save the Russians) be competing on a brand new track. A challenge I, myself, graciously accept one final time this season.