Cortina d’Ampezzo: Australia’s Bree Walker faces a challenge, though far from insurmountable, to meet her ambition of grabbing a medal in the monobob after the first half of competition.
Walker, who entered the Olympics ranked second in the world in monobob – the one woman bobsleigh event – was placed seventh after her first two runs and will get two further opportunities to move up the rankings on Monday when the medals are decided.
Bree Walker during the women’s monobob.Credit: AP
Walker entered the Games as one of the main Australian hopes to be on the podium in what has been easily the nation’s most successful Winter Olympics for medals.
Walker said she had made some mistakes on her first attempt – when placed 11th – but that her second run was better, as she moved up the pecking order to within realistic striking distance of a medal.
German Laura Nolte, who pipped Walker in the World Cup, led the field overall, ahead of American pair Elena Meyers Taylor and incumbent gold medallist (Beijing 2022) Kaillie Armbruster-Humphries. The margin between Walker and third place is an aggregate of 0.77 seconds, and the gap is 1.12 seconds from the clubhouse leader.
Walker’s 11th placing in her first heat was well below her pre-Olympics standard, albeit the margins are relatively small. She had adjusted her race plan in the days before competition, based on the contours of the undulating Cortina course.
“The first heat I just made some mistakes,” Walker said, adding that she had made adjustments that helped improve her second run at a fast Cortina course.
“The track was faster, and first day is the first day. I just went back and recouped and spoke with my coach and I just went out there and blasted it in the second heat.”
