Vonetta Flowers
Vonetta Flowers (* 29. October 1973 as Vonetta Jeffery in Birmingham ) is a former American track and field athlete and Bobsportlerin . As the first black woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games , especially in the USA, she is of great sporting historical importance.
Flowers initially operated in athletics, volleyball and basketball . When she was studying at the University of Alabama , her achievements in athletics were so strong that she won various competitions and trained with the aim of participating in the Olympic Games. At the US Trials for the 1996 Games, she competed in the sprint and long jump, but did not qualify. Just before the trials for the 2000 Games, she was operated on for the fifth time in eight years and was unable to participate. She then resigned from athletics. At the suggestion of her husband and only with the knowledge of bobsleigh from the film " Cool Runnings ", she turned to bobsleigh. Flowers quickly became one of the best pushers on the US team. In her first season she went to the top of the world with the former world-class tobogganist Bonny Warner . The following season she started with Jill Bakken .
With Bakken she was able to achieve her greatest success this season. In the 2002 Olympic Games of Salt Lake City both won the first gold medal, which was awarded to women in bobsledding. Afterwards, the two bobsledders were allowed to carry the US flag at the closing ceremony. Flowers became very popular, she was voted one of the 50 most beautiful women by People Magazine , among others . She was named Alabama's Sportswoman of the Year, received the US Olympic Spirit Award and was named Team of the Year by the US Olympic Committee with Bakken . After the games Bakken was unable to continue her career for two years due to injuries and Flowers competed with the pilot Jean Racine / Prahm over the next four years . With her she won several races in the Bobsleigh World Cup and the bronze medal at the 2004 Bobsleigh World Championship in Koenigssee . Her career ended Flowers after the Olympic Games in 2006 , where she finished sixth with pram.
Web links
- Homepage
- Flowers in sports result (English)
- Vonetta Flowers in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Flowers, Vonetta |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jeffery, Vonetta (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American athlete and bobsleigh athlete |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 29, 1973 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Birmingham |