ST. THOMAS -- Any Virgin Islands hopes for Olympic excellence in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver rides on an upcoming decision by the International Olympic Committee.
St. John native Alexa Putnam, the only V.I. winter sports athlete preparing for the Games, awaits that decision that could allow her to compete in the women's skeleton category. Only 20 slots were available for women's skeleton racers in the Games. The problem for Putnam is that all have been filled and she is currently 21st in eligibility.
In an effort to give Putnam a chance to compete in the Games, the V.I. Olympic Committee has been exhausting all means to get her in. Their main tactic has been petitioning both the IOC and FIBT -- the International Federation of Bobsledding and Tobogganing, which is the sport's governing body -- to reallocate one of the vacant men's spots in the Games over to the women's competition.
Currently, out of the 30 men's skeleton spots in the Games, only 28 have been filled. The deadline for entries was 4 a.m. today local time -- midnight in Vancouver -- and the Games are scheduled to start on Feb. 12.
"In the Winter Olympics, all the bobsledders and skeleton racers use the same track," said V.I. Olympic Committee President Hans Lawaetz, indicating there are no gender exclusive tracks in Olympic competition. This lends credence to the logic that of the 50 total spots in the Games for skeleton athletes, gender should not be a deterrent for the final two.
The odds were still against Putnam getting into the Games, though. Rarely does a competitor get an Olympic berth that was originally set aside for someone of the other gender. But Lawaetz remained hopeful Monday since one of his selling points is that Putnam would be the only athlete from the Central America, South America and Caribbean Region to compete in Olympic sledding in these Games.
"It can happen," he said of Putnam's chances. "But if it doesn't, we tried our best. All we can do is wait."
Putnam has been in training with the German skeleton team for the past four seasons and has been receiving IOC Training Grant funds during that time. The 21-year-old former Pine Peace student currently ranks 43rd in the FIBT standings with 406 points after competing in six events this season, which is her fourth on the World Tour. Her top finish this season was 21st in the Nov. 23-28 Winterberg Intercontinental Cup.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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