U.S. Bobsled Driver Bree Schaaf Reflects on 2010 Winter Olympics

Bree Schaaf hasn't been driving bobsleds for very long, but you wouldn't be able to tell by the early success she's had in the sport.

Schaaf, 29, of Bremerton, Wash., achieved her greatest success this past January and February, when she qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and finished fifth overall.

"It wasn't a medal, but it was still a great experience," Schaaf said.

Schaaf's bobsled history actually begins with another sliding sport - skeleton. Skeleton is the winter sport were an athlete rides a small sled around a frozen track face down, just inches away from the track.

"Skeleton is one of those things where you either take to it, or you don't," Schaaf said. "It's just a matter of being able to relax.

Schaaf had attended Portland State University as a volleyball player. But an ankle injury prevented her from continuing with that sport after graduation. Her brother was interested in sliding sports, so she went along with him to a tryout, and she ended up on a skeleton sled.

"It worked out really well," Schaaf said. "It gave me such an intimate look at a sliding sport. You are face first on the ice, you can't get any closer."

Schaaf started skeleton in 2002, and she immediately had success in the sport. In her five seasons of skeleton, Schaaf finished as high as sixth at the National Championships, third at the Junior National Championships, had two Top 10 finishes in World Championship competitions, had five Top 10 finishes in Europa Championship competitions and two Top 5 finishes in America's Cup competitions.

But her real interest was always in bobsled. And she was using her experiences in skeleton to make an eventual transition to boblsed.

"I got to compete on tracks all around the world," Schaaf said. "It really helped. It took out the angles and I just had to learn the steers.

"It took a little of the edge off."

She also had to go through extensive weight training to pack on enough muscle to push the huge bobsled down an icy track while being hunched over.

"It was a pretty odd adjustment, because the slid is so much bigger," Schaaf said. "But once I [made the adjustment] it's been a pretty quick learning curve."

Schaaf began driving bobsleds in the 2007-2008 season, and she had two bronze medal and one silver medal finishes in America's Cup competitions, and finished fourth overall at the U.S. National Team Trials.

In 2009, she was the U.S. National Bobsled Champion and was named U.S. Women's Bobsled Rookie of the Year. She also had a gold, silver and three bronze medal finishes in America's Cup competitions.

Then in January 2010, Schaaf earned enough World Cup points to qualify as the driver for USA 3, the third bobsled entry for the United States at the Winter Olympics.

"What I love about [bobsled] is you are looking for strong and fast female athletes," Schaaf said. "What you get is a female sport that is unlike any other."

Schaaf's Olympic qualifying came down to her very last World Cup race.

"That was incredible," Schaaf said. "It was far more stressful [than the Olympics].

"I knew getting through that race, that the Olympics wouldn't touch the pressure. It all came down to one race and one heat."

Schaaf was paired with brakeman Emily Azevedo for the Olympics, a brakeman she was very familiar with.

"I really enjoy racing with Emily, so it worked," Schaaf said. "She's such a team player and an amazing person."

Schaaf and Azevedo really got a dose of the Olympics on the very first day, when they walked with Team USA in the Opening Ceremonies.

"That was unreal," Schaaf said. "I think that's every athletes' dram to just walk out and have that giant stadium cheering."

But then Schaaf and Azevedo had to wait until near the end of the Games to compete. So the duo kept a business approach, and didn't attend many events, and tried to train as much as possible. They also watched the men's training sessions to see how the track was working.

Then it came time to compete, and Schaaf's first run was not good at all. They finished in a time of 53.76 seconds, which is where Schaaf believes prevented them from getting into medal contention.

However, they rebounded nicely in the ensuing three heats, dropping time in all three to move up from eighth to fifth. Schaaf finished behind Germany's top driver Sandra Kiriasis and the United States' top drivier Shauna Rohbock.

"I have to remember that I finished between two of the greatest drivers in the world," Schaaf said. "I have no regrets. It's a great feeling as an athlete to know you did everything you could to be successful.

"I was as prepared as I could be. It was just an incredible effort on both Emily's and my part in our first Olympics."

The bobsled season usually runs from November through March. However, Schaaf and several other bobsledders from around the world recently traveled to Moscow, Russia to homologate a new track that has been built for World Cup racing.

Now, however, Schaaf must return to the real world. She received sponsorship during the season from Comcast, and the Washington-based Harrison Medical Group. But, unlike some of the superstar Olympic athletes, Schaaf has to find a real job to support herself.

"Now it's back to reality," Schaaf said. "The tough part of being an Olympic athlete is finding a job that allows for your intensive training schedule."

And barring any setbacks, Schaaf is aiming to compete for Team USA once again at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

"That's the plan," Schaaf said. "I love bobsled. I definitely don't feel I'm done with it."

For more on Bree Schaaf, visit her official Web site at www.breeschaaf.com.