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se MB WINTER GAMES 2022 g & 3 a § 2 3 "= HERB GARBUTT indoor training, got on the 3 com the puke 2 buckets came out," she re- = ‘lani was curious calls. “I said, 'OK, this is not #4 about other options for her the sport for me." = athletic career when she at: So she circled back to § tended RBC bobsleigh. There, she found = Ground in 2018. e ic mix of stro & And after posting the top athletes (physically and ‘results and a mentally) with — back- * strengthrecordattheannu- grounds in football, rugby, al talent-identification com- hockey, basketball and, like bine, there werenoshortage _ herself, track and field. It al- of possibilities for the local so suite her athletic javelin thrower/heptath- strengths. lete. Several sports organiza- tion reached out to he, in in- cluding Bobsleigh Canada. Her initial reaction was that “bobsleigh i is for crazy peo- So instead, she took some time to look int rene bea on the water. Maybe, this arAnd then we switched to That, of course, led to much different view of the 10, it's still for crazy people," she says with laugh. "T'm just one of them now. Villani i is also part of an- other select group — Olym- pians — after being named to the Canadian bobsleigh team. The 25-year-old will team up with pilot Melissa Lotholz to compete in the two-woman bobsled. BOBSLEDDER PUSHING FOR OLYMPIC GLORY Viesturs Lacis photo Sara Villani (centre) along with pilot Melissa Lotholz (right) will compete in the two-woman bobsled in Beijing. The duo finished in the top 12 in five of the six World Cup races this season. In her role as brakeman, Villa- ni helped turn in top five push (start) times in half their runs this season. "As a brakeman, you want to have those push times and show consisten- cy,” she aol Per happy to Sahel was oe first pi- Jot and the two reunited this year and Villani quickly no- ticed a difference. “I saw, or I guess in my case feel, how much she's improved in a short amount of tim ‘llani said. three nadian sleds outperformed she is going to the Olympics. And she's fine with that if it helps Keep the nerves in onthe Norval native said ‘up dreaming didn't even realize she wasa good athlete until she made the switch from gymnastics to track and field as a teen- ager. Now, after another athletic detour, she is on the rge on competing on sports biggest stage. "There are so many ath- letes and such a small per- centage make it tothe Olym- pics," she said. "You think ‘Woah, that's crazy' for someone who never thought they were good enough." theifp.ca Help us, help you. Your support ensures our staff and physicians are prepared to provide you with Georgetown Hospital Foundation Living. Giving. Caring. the best care possible. DONATE TODAY GeorgetownHospitalFoundation.ca 905 - 873 - 4599