Native Georgia bobsledder Meyers ready to slide

By Mike Tierney

For the AJC

For a Georgia girl with an aversion to the cold, bobsledder Elana Meyers has relished her two weeks so far in the mild climes of . . . Vancouver?

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AJC file, AJC In 2008, Elana Meyers trained in the weight room for the two-woman bobsled at Duluth High School. Now she will compete at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

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As the Canadian city has sweated through 50-degree, snow-starved days, much to the anguish of the Winter Games populace, here is one misfit whose Olympics adventure has been enhanced by the relative heat wave.

"It's been great weather, sunny and gorgeous, which makes for wonderful bobsled weather," Meyers, whose closet lacked a winter coat until she taste-tested the northern-influenced sport just 2 1/2 years ago, said via e-mail.

A fortnight of waiting finally over, the lone metro Atlantan amid the U.S. Olympians is primed for her four implausible trips during the last of the Winter competitions to begin.

On Tuesday, she will ascend to the course starting area, silently recite the biblical passage from Psalm 118:6 ("The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man to do to me?"), ritually wiggle the USA-2 sled formerly known as Pinky, and get a pat on the back and a "let's go!" from partner Erin Pac.

However, Pac, the team driver and a Farmington, Conn., native, was diagnosed Saturday with a strained left hamstring that could compromise the sled's chances.

"Although she is doing everything possible to get race-ready, we are unsure how well she will be able to push as she is currently in a lot of pain," Meyers said. . "We are optimistic that she will push well; however, it will most likely not be 100 percent for her.

"We are one of the fastest starting teams normally, and the push is huge on this track. A slower push will definitely make it harder to medal, especially when it was a huge advantage for us going in. I'm still optimistic that we can contend for a medal."

Unless Pac cannot answer the bell, all of Meyers' muscled 180 pounds will propel the sled whose pink flames were removed because they didn't match the USA's color scheme. Then she will hop in for a one-minute joy ride at speeds touching 90 mph.

The Pac-Meyers duo and their peers will take two runs Tuesday and two more Wednesday. NBC has penciled in coverage both nights.

In contrast to her hypersonic, non-stop slides, Meyers, 25, has been able to slow down and pause along her Olympic journey to smell any roses that managed to survive the winter frost. She has kissed the snow that made her conversion from softball standout possible.

In Vancouver, the Opening Ceremonies swelled her with patriotism. The Games schedule, back-loaded with bobsledding, has afforded her time to attend other events. Her dream will play out in the presence of father Eddie, an ex-Falcons running back, and five more relatives.

"From day one, I knew I would" become an Olympian, the Douglasville native said. "I didn't know how soon it would happen."

Getting rapidly from Point A (Apprentice) to Point B (Bobsledder phenom) has had it bumps. Meyers was an innocent bystander in bickering that revealed to her the political underside of the sport.

At last year's world championships, Shauna Rohbock was infuriated when U.S. coaches staged a push-off between her preference, Valerie Fleming, and Meyers to determine Rohbock's sidekick. After Meyers won, Rohbock accused team officials of lying to her and denying the driver her first choice.

All was sorted out when a hamstring injury shelved Fleming. Rohbock, in USA-1, is paired with Michelle Rzepka.

Because of bobsled's history of backroom deals and subjective selection process, Meyers was unsure of her inclusion on the Olympic squad until athletes were notified after the final World Cup event in Switzerland.

"You can never be sure," she recalled. "It was kind of surreal. You want to shout from the rooftops."

An ailing hamstring -- sound familiar? -- had curtailed her training under the auspices of coaches Stu McMillan and Dan Pfaff, both chosen by the athletic Meyers partly because of their track backgrounds.

"My hamstring is doing much better," Meyers noted. "Still have to keep an eye on it."

The slide that slopes down Blackcomb Mountain sent luger Nodar Kumaritashvili to his death 11 days ago. If the calamity shook Meyers, she doesn't show it.

"It brings up the dangers of all sliding sports," she wrote. "The luger was quite inexperienced . . . Erin has plenty of experience and is a very good driver."

Meyers balances a heightened sense of competition with a cheery approach. So, is she more happy-to-be-here or gold-medal-or-bust?

"Gold is always the goal," she wrote, "but, of course, we'll be happy with any medal. If we can come away knowing we did everything possible to win the gold, even if it doesn't happen, we'll be happy."

Tuesday's forecast calls for more temperatures on the tropical side for a Winter Olympics. Along with her Bible verse, she might find joy in singing this classic reggae lyric: "Gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day."