A New Sliding Season Begins with 2024 USA Push Championships

USABS concluded their annual Push Championships at Lake Placid's Mt. Van Hoevenberg facility, showcasing promising talent across multiple disciplines during the four-day competition held September 30 through October 5.

Read USABS’ press release on Push Champs or view full race results.

USA Skeleton Athletes Complete October Media Day

USA Skeleton held its annual Content Day on October 5 at the Lake Placid Olympic Ski Jumping Complex, with athletes showcasing new racing suits for the 2024/2025 season. The media session captured updated team materials, including headshots by photographer and 2022 Olympic bobsledder James "Jimmy" Reed, while Matthew Troy conducted video interviews for the upcoming season.

This year, bobsled and skeleton are hosting two separate media days due to split Team Trials locations.

Team Trials for Bobsled and Skeleton are Almost Here!

USA Bobsled/Skeleton has set its Team Trials schedule for early November, with competitions taking place at two separate venues.

Skeleton athletes will compete November 1-2 at the Utah Olympic Park track in Park City, while bobsled trials will follow on November 8-9 at Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, New York.

A Group of Women who Pushed Limits and Defied Odds

While current athletes competed at this year's Push Championships, cameras were also rolling for a different story at Mt. Van Hoevenberg - one that began 30 years ago.

Nine women who formed the first U.S. women's bobsled team in 1994 returned to Lake Placid for the filming of "Icebreakers," a documentary chronicling their groundbreaking journey: Jill Bakken Linder, Cristina Dolan, Alexandra Allred, Michelle Powe, Liz Parr-Smestad, Christine Speizio, Elena Primerano-Wise, Nancy Lang Houghton, and Laurie Millett.

These athletes, most with no prior bobsled experience and against all odds, met at the first-ever US Women’s Bobsled Camp. Their determination led to the inaugural U.S. Women's Bobsled Push Championships just months later - where two team members competed while pregnant, and one later received the US Olympic Committee's "Athlete of the Year" honor for bobsled.

The documentary captures these pioneers' return to Lake Placid, where they witnessed today's athletes competing in the same town where they once made history. "Icebreakers" aims to illuminate this overlooked chapter in American sports history, where nine women's courage and athleticism helped pave the way for future generations in the sport.

Optimum Performance with Plantiga

USABS has taken a crucial step forward in performance analysis through its partnership with Plantiga, deploying cutting-edge smart insole technology.

The collaboration brings high-level movement analysis directly to the track. Plantiga's innovative in-shoe sensors capture crucial metrics including contact time, stride length, and load distribution throughout each phase of the start – data that was previously only accessible through complex motion capture systems.

"Plantiga's technology has opened new doors in understanding what makes a world-class athlete in Bobsled and Skeleton," says Kenny Howard, USA Skeleton coach. "We're now able to assess each phase of the start, giving coaches meaningful data around athletes' individual push strategies."

The partnership represents a first-of-its-kind investigation into start-line biomechanics. "We're excited about supporting cutting-edge research into how athletes accelerate off the start line and get up to speed," shares Plantiga CEO Quin Sandler. "We look forward to pushing the limits of the sport together over the coming years."

Using AI-powered software to analyze data from their proprietary sensors, Plantiga aims to provide USABS athletes and practitioners with actionable insights to optimize training and performance. This technology brings the precision of GPS tracking and kinematic analysis to every training session, helping shape the future of these high-speed sports one step at a time.

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