Skeleton, Women

Maya Pedersen-Bieri, married to Norwegian skeleton racer Snorre Pedersen, had been one of the top contenders in the sport since the World Cup was initiated in 1996. She became World Champion in 2001 and 2005, won the World Cup in 1998, and had won 8 World Cup races, and the European title, in 2006. She did not compete in the 2003/2004 season, when she became a mother. After missing Olympic glory in 2002, she trained for the 2006 Games by projecting the course on a screen in her living room while lying down on her sled on a table. This unorthodox method paid off, and she dominated the first run at Cesana Pariol, taking a huge lead of more than half a second, and remained unchallenged in the second descent. The silver medal went to Britain’s Shelley Rudman, which was something of an upset. Rudman had started competing in skeleton after watching Alex Coomber winning a bronze in 2002, but had not been named for a top position in Torino. She edged out Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards, winner of that season’s World Cup and 2004 World Champion Diane Sartor.