SOCHI, Russia -- Erin Hamlin won the bronze medal in women's luge at the Sochi Olympics, becoming the first USA Luge athlete to ever medal in a singles event at the games.
The fact that the Empire State grad was beaten by two Germans almost seemed irrelevant. For Hamlin, for her family and for USA Luge, this was a victory. Her mother insisted it was more significant than her win in the 2009 world championships."For her, yes, it is," Eileen Hamlin said.
Bronze better than gold? In this case, that's probably right, given what this one might mean for years to come.
"It's nice to break the streak," said Tony Benshoof, one of three U.S. lugers to finish fourth in a previous Olympics. "I've always known that Erin could get on the podium. It just hadn't happened yet.
"It's great for the organization," he said. "It's great for her. ... She's kind of a master of high-pressure races. She's a good closer. After the third run I knew barring some major catastrophe she had it in the bag."
SPEED SKATING
Brittany Bowe, a graduate of Florida Atlantic, finished 13th in the 500m, her weakest event. "In the coming days, I think you're going to see more positive things from the U.S.," Bowe said.
Bowe is a former inline skater and basketball player. The current world record holder in the 1000m attended Florida Atlantic. While she was there Bowe was a member of the basketball team. Before turning her dreams to the ice, Bowe thought of playing basketball professionally or overseas.
BIATHLON WOMEN'S PURSUIT
Susan Dunklee and Sara Studebaker, both graduates of Dartmouth, failed to medal for Team USA in biathlon women's pursuit on Tuesday.
Dunklee finished the 10K race in 18th place with a time of 31:11.6, just two minutes off gold medal-winner Darya Domracheva's result. Studebaker finished in 35:00.0, more than six minutes behind the leader.
CURLING
Team USA was on the wrong end of a record-setting day in women's curling, as Great Britain set an Olympic record, scoring seven points in one end.
The Team USA women, including Wisconsin's Erika Brown and Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Allison Pottinger, are 0-3 in round-robin play.
