Gold Standard; or the Women of the 2010 Winter Olympics (Part 1)

In honor of the forthcoming Olympics in a few weeks (*sarcastic cheer… ice skating… dread*), and seeing as this is Women Wednesday, why not start a series of Wednesday posts in honor of our American hopefuls? So, I will be giving a few women to watch for and why they are the “Gold Standard” in my playbook.

Without further ado, here are 3 of the gold medal hopefuls in Vancouver!

1. Katie Uthlaender – Skeleton. If you haven’t seen a skeleton race, they’re freakin’ awesome. (Think of sledding, only going down head first on your stomach at break-neck speeds.) A bit about Katie: 25 years of age, father was a MLB outfielder for the Indians (yes, they still have a baseball team), and apparently likes to drink really large mugs of beer.

?2. Noelle Pikus-Pace – Skeleton. What is it about these skeleton Olympiads? Good lookin’ and thrill seekers. Facts about Noelle: 27 years of age, was the NJCAA National Discus Champion in college, and apparently went to the same university my wife did to get her MBA in 2007 (might have even been classmates… go figure).

3. Erin Hamlin – Luge. Think of the skeleton race, but on your back and feet first. Thrill seeker, yet again. Mucho gusto. Facts about Erin: 23 years of age, hails from Lake Placid NY (don’t confuse her coming from there with that REALLY bad movie Lake Placid…), and won a gold medal at the 2009 FIL World Luge Championships, breaking the streak of 99 straight German victories. The Germans then drank themselves into a stupor.