The 0.77 second gap bobsled Bree needs to make up to reach the podium
Cortina d’Ampezzo: Australia’s Bree Walker faces a challenge, though not insurmountable, in achieving her ambition of a medal in the monobob after the first half of the competition.
Walker, who entered the Olympics ranked second in the world in the monobob (women’s single bobsleigh event), finished seventh after her first two runs and will have two more opportunities to move up the rankings when the medals are determined on Monday.
Bree Walker during the women’s monobob.Credit: access point
Walker entered the Games as one of Australia’s hopes for a podium finish at the country’s most successful Winter Olympics in terms of medals.
Walker said he made some mistakes in his first attempt, in which he placed 11th, but his second run was better as he advanced within realistic striking distance of the medal in qualifying.
Germany’s Laura Nolte, who overtook Walker at the World Cup, led the overall standings ahead of American pair Elena Meyers Taylor and incumbent gold medalist (Beijing 2022) Kaillie Armbruster-Humphries. The gap between Walker and third place is 0.77 seconds overall, and the gap with the clubhouse leader is 1.12 seconds.
Walker’s 11th-place finish in the first round was well below his pre-Olympic standard, although the margins were relatively small. In the days before the competition, he had adjusted his race plan to the contours of the undulating Cortina course.
“I made some mistakes in the first race,” Walker said, adding that he made adjustments that helped improve his second run on the fast Cortina course.
“The track was faster and the first day was the first day. I just came back, regrouped and talked to my coach and went out there and had a great performance in the second round.”
