NOS Sport•
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Jonna ter Veer
editor NOS Sport
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Jonna ter Veer
editor NOS Sport
Sarah Blizzard is having little sleep. After the miracle of St. Moritz, where the Dutch two-man bobsleigh placed herself in one of her borrowed sleds for the Winter Games, she drove straight to Altenberg with her ‘baby’ – as she sometimes calls her bobsleigh.
The last World Cup competition will take place in the German city next weekend, which will decide who can definitively go to the Winter Games. Thanks to Blizzard, the Dutch two-man bob can work towards it in a relaxed manner. “They called me asking to borrow my sled and I said no problem. Hopefully the extra karma points will also help our team,” she laughs.
It is a second-hand sled, which Blizzard bought from a Swiss bobsledder for 35,000 euros of its own money. So it is directly responsible for lending, not the Australian association. She is generous: the Dutch can also use the sled in Altenberg and at the Winter Games in Milan. Free.
They don’t have to pay her anything. “They have always helped me, now I help them,” says the 29-year-old Australian, as if that makes perfect sense.
Expensive irons, for each other
The bobsled community is small. There is a lot of solidarity between countries that do not belong to the top, such as the Netherlands and Australia. Teams are small, they have to make do with little money. A new sled easily costs 60 to 90,000 euros.
“I am not technical, but Ivo (de Bruin, the Dutch national coach, ed.) and Nico (Semmler, his assistant, ed.) are. They have been repairing my sled since last year. I can also borrow their expensive irons, because I only have one pair for my sled – while top teams have five. That is why I have started a crowdfunding campaign.”
The Netherlands has never asked her for money. “I’m glad I can help them now,” Blizzard said.
However, while it is almost certain for the Dutch that they will go to the Games with the two-man and four-man bobsleigh, for Blizzard it is all or nothing. Her result next weekend will decide whether she qualifies or not. Yet she is lending her sled to the Netherlands again this weekend. They train alternately, although her race is earlier.
Doesn’t she worry about accidents damaging the sled? “Yes, the sled is my baby, but they will help me patch it up and otherwise they will help me get another one. By the way, Dave (Wesselink, the pilot, ed.) steers well,” said the Australian.
However, they always have to adjust some things, such as the seat and the position of the footrests; Wesselink is 1.93 meters, she is 1.75. But according to Blizzard, that was done in twenty minutes.
Eternally grateful
“I am eternally grateful to Sarah,” says Wesselink, standing next to her in the German snow. “Without her help, we would have had to continue using our own prototype.” The material determines a third of success, the pilot explains. “Our own sled started out fast, but slowed down in the last few turns.”
In a sport where winning or losing depends on a few hundredths of a second, this is not possible. Wesselink immediately felt that things were going well with the Australian two-man bobsled. “Sarah’s sled is much more stable and absorbs vibrations in turns with a lot of G-forces much better.”
To the Netherlands
Her two-man bob will return to the Netherlands on Monday. There the sled is completely checked (Wesselink: “She will get it back better than it was”) and equipped with stickers of the Dutch flag and sponsors.
Should Blizzard also qualify, there will be a 12-hour break at the Milan Winter Games between the men’s race and its first training run. “Your national coach will then help me put on the Australian stickers,” she says.
Next Sunday, after the last match, Wesselink has planned another surprise for Blizzard. “We invited her and the Australian team to join us for dinner.” He hopes with all his heart that Blizzard will be able to qualify for the Games. “Then it really becomes fun.”
