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Cortina d’Ampezzo: Bree Walker came to these Winter Olympics as the world’s second-ranked woman in the monobob, with exceptional form and confident in her prospects as one of Australia’s potential medallists.
But the elite rivals Walker faced found a gear for the Olympics, and she didn’t. Unable to match the top few Americans and leading German in her field, “Bobsled Bree” finished eighth, frustratingly short of the medal she coveted.
Bree Walker gets going on a monobob run.Credit: AP
Walker did not airbrush her disappointment in the outcome, saying that she had struggled at these Olympics and failed to adapt to the conditions as her rivals had.
“I’m obviously disappointed with the result, especially after the season that I have had, however you know what, it’s a completely different track. It’s a lot different to what it was in November when we had the World Cup and I just struggled to adapt to it, unfortunately.
“And the result is the result.”
The gold medal was decided on the last run when German Laura Nolte, who had led the field for the previous three heats, failed to overtake American Elana Meyers Taylor, the 41-year-old veteran, who snatched the gold, her first in Olympic competition after a pair of silvers and three bronze.
Another forever fixture of the bobsled circuit, Kaillie Armbruster Humphries, 40 and the 2022 Olympic champion, was third. That trio was clearly ahead of the pack (0.77 seconds).
“I must say if I’m being honest I’ve struggled here all week, and I was having a lot of troubles that I was struggling to fix,” Walker said, who also told Channel Nine that she was “heartbroken” and had dealt with a bent axel this week.
“But I just wanted to go in the race and see if I could continue to work and continue to improve … all I could do was go out and do my very best.”
Meyers Taylor had closed to within 0.15 seconds before the final run, her flimsy final winning margin of 0.04s aided by the German’s blunder on a turn. Watching the race conclude during our interview, Walker exclaimed “holy shit, that’s amazing”.
Walker, placed seventh before the final day, went faster than she had on the first day of competition. The problem was that those in pole position for medals were even quicker on a lightning track that quickened on a frigid night (Nolte’s botched final run excepted). She did not gain ground.
Walker’s result was a significant letdown, considering she had finished fifth in Beijing in 2022 and won three of the past five World Cups against the same peers.
Pre-Olympics, Walker had felt that the track here suited her, but the results belied that assessment.
“It is unfortunate what the result is.”
It was a result that might be viewed as one that reflected the strength of the respective nations in bobsleigh – a sport that has less of a natural platform in Australia. Walker suggested as much.
“It’s been really hard here, you know, we’re a small team and I’ve got one driving coach compared to these bigger nations, they’ve got many driving coaches. They’ve been able to adapt to the changes.”
Walker was disappointed in her individual performance but is looking ahead to the two-man event.Credit: Getty Images
Walker had a coaching doyen, Canadian sled whisperer Pierre Leuders, in her corner and the resources befitting an Australian medal chance, but she was still one out against the Americans and German Nolte.
Walker entered the final two runs needing to bridge a margin of 0.77 seconds – the gap between the Australian and third placed Armbruster Humphries – to make the podium. The gap widened, despite marked improvement in her times (59.60 and 59.69) after not breaking a minute – as the eventual top four did – on day one.
Placed seventh, she would also need to overtake four others ahead of her in the pecking order.
In effect, it meant she needed two exceptional runs, and for others ahead to falter. They didn’t.
Walker’s disappointing first run had been the initial albatross making her task difficult, placing her 11th.
The former 400-metre hurdler who converted to bobsleigh and succeeded, Walker, 33, said she did not know what the future held post-Olympics, and was not looking beyond the two-person event next week at Cortina when she teams with Kiara Reddingius.
“I’m not thinking about the future yet. There’s a whole other world after the Olympics that you know I will face but that’s future Bree’s probs.”
“I’ve just got to reset for two-man, that’s all I’ve got to do.”
The Winter Olympic Games will be broadcast on the 9Network, 9Now and Stan Sport.
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