Pasadena's Westridge Grad Lauren Gibbs Silvers In Bobsledding

PASADENA, CA — Lauren Gibbs, an alumnus of Westridge School in Pasadena, won an Olympic silver medal Wednesday as the brakeman for the bobsled piloted by Elana Meyers Taylor.

"It's incredible," said Gibbs, a long jumper and triple jumper and volleyball player at Westridge. ``I can't believe it. I have no words, sorry. I can't even. This is cool."

The sled was in second behind the German sled piloted by Mariama Jamanka following the first two runs Tuesday, trailing by 0.07 seconds.

On their first run Wednesday, Gibbs and Meyers Taylor reclaimed the track record at the Olympic Sliding Centre in Pyeongchang, South Korea, of 50.46 seconds, cutting the deficit to 0.04 seconds. They also tied the record for fastest start, 5.21 seconds, which they set in their second run Tuesday. Jamanka and brakeman Lisa Buckwitz had set the record of 50.49 on their third run.

Just like they had on their previous three runs, Gibbs and Meyers Taylor had the fastest start time for their final run, 5.23 seconds. They had the fastest start time in all four heats.

Their time for the run, 50.73, was the second fastest of the heat, behind the 50.70 run posted by the second German sled, piloted by Stephanie Schneider.

Jamanka's sled made its run after the Americans. Its start time and first three intermediate times were off the gold medal pace, but its final time of 50.70, equaled the fastest of the run and gave them the gold medal. Their total time for the four runs was 3:22.45, .07 ahead of the Americans.

The bronze medal was won by the Canadian sled of pilot Kallie Humphries, a 2014 Olympic gold medalist, and brakeman Phylicia George. The Canadians were .44 behind the Germans and .37 behind the Americans.

The 33-year-old Gibbs graduated from Westridge in 2002. She won four consecutive Prep League championships in the long jump and three straight in triple jump. She was also a two-time all-league selection in volleyball. She played volleyball at Brown University, where she was a second-team All-Ivy League in 2005.

After holding a variety of sales jobs and her athletic career seemingly over, a friend, Jill Potter, who had played rugby with Meyers Taylor, suggested Gibbs become a bobsledder. Gibbs, who was living in Denver, went to a combine for prospective athletes in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and did well enough to be invited to the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York.

Gibbs made her first national team during the 2014-2015 season and has been on the national team every year since. She has won medals in 11 World Cup races and a bronze medal with Meyers Taylor in the 2016 World Championships.

City News Service; Photo: Elana Meyers Taylor and Lauren Gibbs of the United States celebrate winning silver after the Women's Bobsleigh heats on day twelve of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Olympic Sliding Centre on February 21, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)