Westridge Alumna Lauren Gibbs Wins Bobsled World Cup

PASADENA, CA — Lauren Gibbs, an alumna of Westridge School in Pasadena, was the brakeman for the bobsled piloted by Elana Meyers Taylor that won the women's bobsled World Cup race in St. Moritz, Switzerland over the weekend.

In the first race in which they were in the sled together since winning an Olympic silver medal last February, Meyers Taylor and Gibbs had the fastest push times and overall times in both heats, despite Meyers Taylor feeling extremely ill.

"She was sick last week and got sick again this week, coughing all night," USA Bobsled coach Mike Kohn said. "She showed up today and won the race by a huge margin. She's a trooper. She showed us today why she's got so many medals. She's determined, resilient and perseveres.

"Lauren did a great job pushing, and I couldn't be more proud of them for their display of grit today."

Gibbs and Meyers Taylor had a combined time of two minutes, 16.11 seconds for their two runs. The German duo of Stephanie Schneider and Lisa Sophie Gericke was second in 2:16.71. Mariama Jamanka, who piloted a German sled to the Olympic gold medal in 2018, and brakeman Franziska Bertels, were third in 2:16.87.

Gibbs and Meyers Taylor "didn't make weight at the start of this season, so she had to lose weight in order to slide with Elana," Amanda Bird, the marketing & communications director of USA Bobsled & Skeleton, told City News Service. "She was able to do that in time for St. Moritz."

Gibbs had been sliding with Brittany Reinbolt earlier this World Cup season.

The 34-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.

Gibbs held a variety of sales jobs and her athletic career seemed over until 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 season since. She won a bronze medal with Meyers Taylor in the 2016 World Championships.

City News Service; File Photo: Driver Elana Meyers Taylor and Lauren Gibbs of the United States finish their second heat during the women's two-man bobsled competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)