In 2002, Jill Bakken did what every young American athlete only dreams of...she won an Olympic Gold Medal. Not only did she achieve the greatest honor for any amateur athlete, but she won the first ever Gold in a premiere event: Women's Bobsled. She and her brakeman, Vonetta Flowers, made athletic history.

But it didn't come easily to Jill. Though brakeman come and go in the sport (and do play a vital role in winning), pilots sweat the big stuff. They guide that sled at maximum speeds in less than a thundrous minute from top to bottom of a winding track, and they do it with no way out and two things in mind: speed, and keeping the blue side up. Jill did both well, but it took years of dedication and hard work.

To boot, there wasn't a ton of support for women back then and Jill found herself in a position of forging a path for other women drivers--and all women drivers to come. It wasn't just a national path--she was breaking the "ice ceiling" in Europe, a place where they once laughed at the idea of women driving bobsleds. (We proved them wrong.)

Over the years--here at Steel and Ice--it was apparent that no woman in the sport of bobsled drew the respect of the International community like Jill. She became the athlete that the German team--her fiercest competitors--came to embrace. The "Damen-ators" linked the "Team Bakken" website to the German Team website and her European competitors always described her as "a good friend".

So what is Jill doing now? After a few years away from the sport, Jill returned to competition late in the last Olympic quadrennial. After the 2006 Games, she made a decision to complete her studies at University--something she is invested in today. Like many determined young athletes, Jill put her education on hold for several years.

But Jill is giving back. She has offered to help young athletes, like Holly Ball, who are training in her old Bobsled stomping grounds at Park City. With valuable knowledge and years of trial and error on all the tracks in the world, Jill has a lot to offer--and young athletes are only hoping for a chance to take advice from her. Certainly, Jill is the person to ask for the Park City and Calgary tracks--the two tracks she nearly always conquered.

Welcome back Jill! And good luck with your degree. We hope--if you can break away with some spare time--to see you walking up the track in Park City or Lake Placid, inspiring a few good athletes to follow in your footsteps!

See Jil's accomplishments.