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Mystique Ro gets into position on Tuesday at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid for her final run during the USA Skeleton Push Championship. (Company Photo – Parker O’Brien)
LAKE PLACID – Austin Florian and Mystique Ro won first places in the men’s and women’s division at the USA Skeleton Push Championships this week in Mount Van Hoevenberg.
The push championships marked the start of the season before athletes travel to other competitions ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Unlike the Bobsled Push Championships, the USA Skeleton Push Championships were not used to determine the national team list previously announced on September 6th.
USA Bobsled / Skeleton CEO Aron McGuire said the event will help athletes assess their level of training as the season begins.
“Part of it is for fun, part is great to see the importance of starting a skeleton race.” said McGuire. “The last part is for the athletes to see where they stand in terms of fitness and speed when they start the season.”
Austin Florian pushes off during the USA Skeleton Push Championship at Mount Van Hoevenberg on Tuesday. (Company Photo – Parker O’Brien)
“It’s a good way of measuring where you are and where you have been throughout the season.” said Florian. “It’s hard now because this is our first time using it, so we don’t have any data on what is fast and what is not. But it’s a good gauge to see how you feel and how you compare to everyone else. “
Florian was one of three national team members who took part in the event. He took first place in the men’s race. The other two national team members who competed were Dan Barefoot and Stephen Garbett.
“I felt good,” said Florian. “We are working on going to Beijing. We’re going to Beijing next week for our international training week. Preparations for the start of the season. It feels good to start with a good boost. I am really happy that we have the ice house to start training. “
The top 3 men were rounded off by Darryl Payne, Jr. and Austin Hayes.
Hayes, who finished second, said he was very nervous and his first run wasn’t good at all.
“I was thinking too much, I was trying way too hard to get out and I was off balance and had to jump up way too early.” said Hayes. “In the second I forgot everything I did in the first. I just let it flow and was able to get into the barrel a little further and felt a lot calmer. “
For the women, Ro had a lightning-fast start time, as her last kick-off was under 5 seconds, an achievement that only she achieved among the women on Tuesday. Ro took first place.
“I’ve struggled with a quad injury for the past few weeks, but I’m glad the adrenaline worked. It was very helpful.” said Ro.
Ro said the push championships will offer a range of what the team is looking for. She said she’ll try to work on certain techniques that we can apply to other routes outside of Lake Placid.
Behind Ro, Michelle Toukan was second and Leah Fair third.
The athletes will travel to Beijing next week for a test event, which will host the 2022 Winter Olympics. The team will then take part in double World Cups in Europe and other competitions before the 2022 Winter Olympics.
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