Cesana Pariol, Italy – Whether she were to end up in Iraq or Italy, in a war or at peace, Shauna Rohbock decided she would do whatever it took to represent her country in a manner befitting a soldier.
Or a bobsled driver.
Rohbock, who holds the rank of specialist in the Utah National Guard, managed to do both at the Winter Olympics on a brisk and occasionally snowy Tuesday night, piloting USA 2 to a silver-medal finish to finally fulfill her dream and help break what had been an 0-for-6 drought in the medals department for U.S. sliders.
“It’s amazing to be here as a soldier and a civilian as well,” said Rohbock, 28, who along with brakeman Valerie Fleming posted a two-day, four-run combined time of 3 minutes, 50.69 seconds. “I just hope it lifts the spirits of other soldiers out there. It’s the greatest thing to win a medal for your country.”
The dominant and methodical Germany 1 team of Sandra Kiriasis and Anja Schneiderheinze claimed the gold with a time of 3:49.98. Italy 1, with Gerda Weissensteiner and Jennifer Isacco aboard, earned the bronze.
The USA 1 team, featuring driver Jean Prahm and 2002 Olympic gold medalist Vonetta Flowers, finished sixth, admirable only in that it had begun the second day of competition in 10th place and essentially out of medal contention.
“I’m so proud of them,” Flowers said of her teammates. “They worked hard and they deserved it and we can’t wait to celebrate with them – and I’m going to tell them to enjoy every minute of it.”
For Rohbock, earning an Olympic medal represents the fulfillment of a dream that turned into a nightmare just before the Winter Games in 2002, when women’s bobsledding made its Olympic debut.
She was a brakeman and set to compete in a sled piloted by Jill Bakken. But Bakken replaced Rohbock with Flowers two months before those Games and that pair surprised the world – and the powerful Germans – by winning.
“There was no bitterness. Jill did what she had to do,” said Rohbock, of Orem, Utah. “After that, I became a driver immediately so that (animosity) was over very quickly.”
Her Olympic quest had begun anew, but only until the Army came calling. Rohbock received her deployment order in December 2003, as a member of the National Guard’s 115th Engineer Group.
Her athletic career was put on hold indefinitely and her future as an Olympian was put in doubt. She completed her training and prepared to ship out, but then her life took another unexpected turn. Army doctors found that she had a severely torn rotator cuff, apparently suffered earlier in 2003 while a soccer player for the San Diego Spirit.
That kept her from going abroad and, although she was disappointed in one regard, she was pleased to be able to resume her career as a bobsledder. She became a podium regular at World Cup events – though she never was able to beat Kiriasis – and was the bronze medalist at the 2005 world championships.
“It’s like a dream,” said a gleeful Kiriasis, who won the silver at Salt Lake City. “I think I have to sleep one more night to realize what happened.”
It was a sentiment Rohbock, sitting next to Kiriasis in the interview tent, seemed to share with a nod.
