The U.S. Bobsled team made one change to its three women’s bobsled pairings for the second World Cup of the season in Park City, Utah, this weekend.
The top two sleds from last week’s opener in Calgary, Alberta, remain the same — Elana Meyers and Aja Evans and Jamie Greubel and Katie Eberling. The third sled will again by driven by Jazmine Fenlator, but her push athlete will be 2010 Olympian Emily Azevedo making her World Cup season debut.
Azevedo replaces two-time Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones. These are the pairings for Friday’s race. The pairings for Saturday have yet to be announced. Universal Sports will have coverage of the races.
Fenlator and Jones finished 15th at the opening World Cup in Calgary, Alberta, last week. It marked Fenlator’s lowest World Cup finish in three seasons as a driver.
USBSF also subbed out Jones for Azevedo for the second World Cup stop last season. Evans, Eberling and Azevedo went on to be the three push athletes in the two-woman competition at the World Championships, while Jones came in for the non-Olympic team event.
In all, Jones competed in five of the eight World Cup events the U.S. took part in last season, her rookie season.
Meyers and Evans and Greubel and Eberling will look to build on a two-three finish in Calgary, the second time since 2009 the U.S. put two women’s sleds on the same World Cup podium.
World Cup results through mid-January will determine how many sleds the U.S. will qualify for Sochi. It will likely qualify the maximum three, as it did for the 2010 Olympics.
The Olympic push athletes will be discretionary selections, though World Cup results play a role in determining who is picked.
