| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 September 1982 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Height | 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) (2014) [1] |
| Weight | 60 kg (130 lb) (2014) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Australia |
| Sport | Bobsleigh |
| Event(s) | Twoman Women |
| Updated on 6 February 2014. | |
Astrid Loch-Wilkinson (born 14 September 1982), also known as Astrid Radjenovic, is an Australian bobsledder who has competed since 2003.
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(June 2023) |
She was born in Sydney and educated at Abbotsleigh, Wahroonga and Sydney University, where she qualified in veterinary science. Loch-Wilkinson was a national finalist in 400 metres hurdles. She took up bobsleigh at the suggestion of Hannah Campbell-Pegg, Australia's first Olympic woman luge competitor.
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(June 2023) |
Loch-Wilkinson has been in two Winter Olympics, earning her best finish of 14th in the two-woman event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. After Turin, her brakeman Kylie Reed retired and Loch-Wilkinson did not compete the following season because of the high costs involved. She made a comeback in late 2009 in the Americas Cup and Europa Cup. After an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Loch-Wilkinson and brakeman Cecila McIntosh were allowed to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada. They placed 19th in an event marred by spectacular crashes by the British and Germany 2 teams. After attracting a corporate sponsor, Loch-Wilkinson set about rebuilding a new team with better equipment and competed in Europe in 2010–2011. In that season she finished 10th and 9th in Europa Cup in Igls and 8th in Cesana Pariol in Italy in fields of up to 20 sleds that included 4 Olympic finalists from 2010. In January 2011 Loch-Wilkinson and brakewoman Jamie Hedge were readmitted to the elite World Cup Tour, their best placing being 13th in the final race in Cesana Pariol, prior to the World Championships in Koenigsee.
Loch-Wilkinson finished 23rd at the FIBT World Championships in the two-woman event at Calgary in 2005. With Jamie Hedge she won a bronze medal in Europa Cup in January 2011. At the FIBT World Championships in Königsee in February 2011 she finished 14th of 22 sleds, with novice brakeman Fiona Cullen. She competed in the World Cup Tour in 2011/2012. In Altenberg, Germany in January 2012 she achieved 9th place (with novice brakewoman Ebony Gorincu) – hitherto the best ever placing by any Australian bobsledder (male or female) in elite international competition. She followed this up with three more top 10 placings in the latter half of the World Cup Tour. At season's end in 2012, she was placed 11th overall in the World Cup rankings. In late 2010 Astrid married Vuk Rađenović, the Captain of Serbia's 2&4-man bob teams. After the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, and 4 years of marriage, Vuk left the marriage after an affair with German Bobsledder Stefanie Szczurek. Loch-Wilkinson is said to have been devastated by the discovery.
In 2012/2013, the Aussie Icebirds were one of only a few teams to contest every race in a 9 race World Cup series. In late December 2012 the team was joined by former world champion 400-metre hurdler, Jana Pittman, a former track and field training partner of Astrid. They took 7th place in a field of 13 sleds in early January 2013 on the challenging Altenberg track in Germany. This was the best ever result by any Australian bobsled. In the World Championships later that month in St Moritz the ageing equipment used by the Aussies became their greatest hurdle. Despite this, the team managed to record the 8th fastest time of all 22 sleds in the third of a 4 heat contest, a time that bettered that of 2 of the fancied German sleds. A public appeal was launched in Australia for sponsorships to buy a new sled and runners prior to the Sochi 2014 Games, which raised over $20,000 from individual small donors.
Bobsleigh or Bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, also known as FIBT from the French Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing. National competitions are often governed by bodies such as the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, and the German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation.
Kristan Bromley is a retired British skeleton racer who has competed since 1996. He won the gold medal in the men's event at the 2008 FIBT World Championships in Altenberg, Germany. This was Great Britain's first gold medal at the FIBT World Championships since 1965.
The IBSF World Championships, part of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, have taken place on an annual basis since 1930. Starting with 2002, no World Championships being held in non-Winter Olympic years. A two-man event was included in 1931 with a combined championship occurring in 1947. Men's skeleton was introduced as a championship of its own in 1982 while women's bobsleigh and skeleton events were introduced in 2000. Both the women's bobsleigh and skeleton events were merged with the men's bobsleigh events at the 2004 championships. A mixed team event, consisting of one run each of men's skeleton, women's skeleton, 2-man bobsleigh, and 2-women bobsleigh, was held from 2007 to 2019. In 2020 it was replaced with skeleton mixed team event, consisting of one run each of men's and women's skeleton. Women's monobob event was included in 2021.
Raimund Bethge is an East German bobsledder who competed in the late 1970s. He took up the sport in 1975. He won a complete set of medals at the FIBT World Championships with a gold in four-man (1977), a silver in two-man (1978, and a bronze in four-man. He also took a silver in the European Championships in 1978 in the four-man event. Bethge also competed at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, finishing fourth in the four-man event and seventh in the two-man event.
Ivo Rüegg is a Swiss bobsledder who competed between 1996 and 2010. He won five medals at the FIBT World Championships with two golds, two silvers Two-man: 2007, Mixed team: 2009), and a bronze.
Daumants Dreiškens is a Latvian bobsledder, brakeman, who has competed since 2003.
Jennifer Ciochetti is a Canadian bobsledder who has competed since 2006. Ciochetti was a world champion in 2012 in the two-woman event and also won a bronze medal in the team event that year as well.
Oskars Melbārdis is a former Latvian bobsledder who has competed since 2006. He is the most successful bobsledder in the history of his country, having won one gold and two bronze Olympic medals. He also earned the first-ever gold medal for Latvia at World Championships in Igls, preceded by one silver and two bronze medals in 2009-2015.
The Whistler Sliding Centre is a Canadian bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in Whistler, British Columbia, that is 125 km (78 mi) north of Vancouver. The centre is part of the Whistler Blackcomb resort, which comprises two ski mountains separated by Fitzsimmons Creek. Located on the lowermost slope of the northern mountain, Whistler Sliding Centre hosted the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton competitions for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Kaillie Humphries is a Canadian and American bobsledder. Representing Canada, she was the 2010 and 2014 Olympic champion in the two-woman bobsled and the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist with brakewoman Phylicia George. With her victory in 2014, she became the first female bobsledder to defend her Olympic title and was named flagbearer for the Olympic closing ceremony with brakewoman Heather Moyse.
Lyndon Rush is a Canadian retired bobsledder who has competed since 2004. Rush took up bobsleigh after spending five years playing Canadian football for the University of Saskatchewan. He initially trained as a brakeman before switching to driving due to a hamstring injury.
Amanda Stepenko is a Canadian bobsledder who competed from 2002 to 2010. Her best finish in the Bobsleigh World Cup was sixth in the two-woman event at Lake Placid in December 2006.
Esmé Kamphuis is a former Dutch heptathlete, who has competed as a bobsledder since 2004. Her best Bobsleigh World Cup finish was second in the two-woman event at Cesana Pariol in the 2010-11 season. She took a bronze medal at the Bobsleigh European Championships in 2011.
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Steven Daniel Langton is an American bobsledder. He won silver medals in both the two-man and four-man events at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and gold in both the two-man and four-man events at the 2012 FIBT World Championships.
Vuk Radjenovic is a Germany-resident Serbian bobsledder who has competed since 2001. His best World Cup finish was 11th in a four-men event at Igls in 2013, considered a remarkable performance due to financial struggles of his national federation. Vuk and the Serbian Bobsleigh Team became known as people that "create a lot with nothing". His best two-man World Cup result is 18th in Igls in 2012. Rađenović finished 2012/13 World Cup season in 26th place of Men's Four-Man with 352. He was selected to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in the four-man event where he finished 18th. His best world cup results are 2010: 2man in Lake Placid, NY, USA, 16th place; and 2012: 2man in St Moritz Switzerland, 18th place.
Christopher Spring is an Australian-Canadian 4 x Olympic bobsledder who has competed since 2008. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, he competed for Australia in the two-man event. He switched allegiance to Canada later in 2010 and has since competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics, 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics for Canada.
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