Process, process, process. Even though Canada's Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse set start and track records in both of the opening Olympic women's bobsleigh heats on Tuesday night (Feb. 23) at the Whistler Sliding Centre, giving them ownership of first place before the final two runs tomorrow, the mantra these speedsters are sticking to pertains to the technical side of their sport.
Moyse said the dynamic duo is "keeping everything technical, as opposed to an end result," and she wasn't even looking at the times and team rankings on the scoreboard.
"Kaillie and I have actually been trying to not think of outcomes. It's been all about the process," Moyse said, talking about the technical pieces on which she's concentrating. "That's all I'm thinking about. If I start thinking about a time, it's going to mess us up, which I why I don't pay attention."
Humphries, the former brakeman who has become the second-ranked pilot on the World Cup circuit this season, has been smashing start records with Moyse all over the map. They were at it again tonight, breaking the previous Whistler start record of 5.17 seconds in both heats, with times of 5.12 and 5.11 seconds, and speeding on to set new track records with their runs of 53.19 and then 53.01 seconds.
Holding track records is nice, Humphries said, but she's not satisfied.
"At the end of the day I know I can do it even faster and better, and that'll be my goal for tomorrow," she said.
Canada's Helen Upperton, who missed out on a bronze medal at the 2006 Games by just five hundredths of a second, slid into fourth place with Shelley-Ann Brown. The duo briefly held a track record with their time in the second run, whipping to the finish in 53.12 seconds.
"W are closer to the field than we have been all year. I'm really happy with the improvements," Upperton said, adding, "If we can have two runs tomorrow like we did today, I will be really happy."
The Canada-2 sled currently sits 42 hundredths of a second behind their teammates, and just two hundredths of a second out of third place.
"I think on this track you're always in the mix," Upperton said.
Erin Pac, pilot of the USA-2 sled and bronze medallist at last year's World Cup race in Whistler, sits in second place with brakeman Elana Meyers, a mere 13 hundredths of a second behind Humphries and Moyse. The medal from Whistler is her only career World Cup podium result, so one might guess she can handle the fast and challenging course, but she said the tough track still terrifies her though that might be what keeps her coming back for more.
"The bottom scares me so much, but I think that's what keeps me coming back. I like the thrill. It's something that you have to learn to get over and go through it," Pac said.
Germany's Cathleen Martini and Romy Logsch are holding onto third place after finishing in a tie for second with Pac and Meyers in the first run but then posting the fifth-fastest time in their second run.
"We still have two runs, so everyone can make mistakes. Obviously you don't wish anyone mistakes, but anything can happen," Martini said. "We've got to use fun and joy and see where it goes."
Shockingly, Germany's Sandra Kiriasis, the champion and silver medallist in the last two Olympics and eight-time World Cup overall champion, sits in fifth place after the first two runs. She and brakeman Christin Senkel are still only 44 hundredths of a second behind Humphries and Moyse.
Kiriasis said she screwed up the second heat with a problem in Corner 11 of the 16-curve track, and she'll focus hard on Corners 11 through 15 going into Wednesday.
"Until 11 I was perfect. And the rest was bad. But it was fun," she said. "Until Corner 11 I'm stable and then I don't know what happens.
"Bad run, bad run, that's all I can say."
Also surprising is the tie for sixth place between Rohbock and Bree Schaaf, pilot of the USA-3 sled. Rohbock is the 2006 Olympic silver medallist, winner of the 2009 World Cup race in Whistler and fourth-ranked pilot on the World Cup circuit this season and last, and she held the Whistler track record time before Humphries bested it.
Meanwhile Schaaf climbed to a ninth-place ranking in World Cup standings this year.
