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Bakken struck sledding gold on first try
Jordan Dawson, Seattle Times staff // December 21, 2006
Copyright 2006 The Seattle Times Company
Athlete: Jill Bakken, Lake Washington High School (Kirkland), Class of 1995
Sports: Soccer, basketball
High-school rewind: Played varsity soccer four seasons. Was second-team All-KingCo player as freshman and first-team selection her final three years. Played two seasons of varsity basketball. In 1994, her junior year, joined U.S. women's team. Spent much of her senior year training at Lake Placid, N.Y.
After high school: Attended University of Utah to be close to bobsledding track built for 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics before transferring to Washington, then Oregon State (where she was a walk-on soccer player) and back to Utah.
At the 2002 Olympics, Bakken flew down the hill at more than 80 mph and won the gold medal with brakeman Vonetta Flowers in the inaugural year of the women's event. Flowers became the first African-American to win a Winter Olympics gold medal.
"It was such a fight to get women's bobsledding to be an event in the Olympics," said Bakken. "So after that, the hard part seemed to be over."
After Olympics: Bakken took two years off to give her body a rest. However, she missed bobsledding and returned to the sport in 2004, relocating to Calgary. She tried out for the U.S. Olympic team, but only the top two entries advanced and Bakken placed third.
Personal: Bakken, 29, is engaged to Canadian bobsledder Florian Linder, 28.
Fast forward: After narrowly missing a chance to defend her gold medal at the 2006 Olympics, Bakken enrolled at Eastern Washington University to finish her degree in recreation management with a minor in business. She expects to graduate next fall.
She is unsure of her next step, but is considering attending veterinary school.
"I haven't closed the door on bobsledding, but I'm not sure I will go back," she said.
Jordan Dawson
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