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U.S.'s Hays Picks Jovanovic as Brakeman
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Thursday, February 16, 2006
TURIN, Italy, Feb. 15 -- American medal favorite Todd Hays has chosen brakeman Pavle Jovanovic to push his two-man bobsled in this weekend's Olympic competition.
Hays, of Del Rio, Tex., said he made the decision "a long time" ago but chose not to reveal it publicly until after he and Jovanovic completed their first two runs of training Wednesday night at the Olympic track.
"He's the best two-man brakeman in the United States," said Hays, who won silver in the four-man event in 2002 and is expected to contend in both two- and four-man here. "He's extremely fast and strong. He's mentally very, very tough. . . . And if it comes down to a few-hundredths [of a second] at the end, I know he's going to find it someplace."
Hays and Jovanovic will train again Thursday. Jovanovic, of Toms River, N.J., plans to skip Friday's training to rest for Saturday's start of the two-day, four-run event.
Hays used Jovanovic as his brakeman for most of this past World Cup two-man season. Hays finished third in the season points race, and probably would have claimed the title if he hadn't skipped the final World Cup stop -- time he used to prep for the Olympics.
Together, they earned two silvers and a bronze in four two-man competitions this season.
"I'll take a couple more runs on Thursday and then be fresh for Saturday and Sunday," Jovanovic said.
Steven Holcomb, who'll drive USA 2 in the two-man event, trained with Bill Schuffenhauer as his brakeman on Wednesday night and is believed to be leaning toward using him in the competition. He's planning to train with Curt Tomasevicz as well.
The two-man race draw is Friday; drivers can switch brakemen for injuries or other reasons until then.
Jovanovic missed the Salt Lake City Games four years ago after testing positive for a banned steroid, which he believes he ingested through a tainted supplement powder. He was suspended for two years, a period that began just before the 2002 Olympics.
The U.S. program -- particularly Hays, who openly professes his belief that Jovanovic did not dope -- welcomed him back with open arms.
"It means a lot to me," Jovanovic said. "These guys have given me all the support in the world. They've made it so easy to come back. And we're running pretty well right now, so I'm happy about that."
