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U.S. skeleton star battles back, falls short

Last winter, relative newcomer Noelle Pikus-Pace of Utah shocked the skeleton world by becoming the first American World Cup champ — and thus the favorite for Olympic gold. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports on the tough ride she's had since then.
GERMANY SKELETON WORLD CUP
Noelle Pikus-Pace of the United States finished fifth in the women's skeleton World Cup race in Germany on Friday.Eckehard Schulz / AP

It's called a skeleton because it's the barest of barebones sleds you can ride down an icy chute.

Last winter, relative newcomer Noelle Pikus-Pace of Utah shocked the skeleton world by becoming the first American World Cup champ — and thus the favorite for Olympic gold.

"Skeleton feels fast," she says. "You can hear the wind flying by you going 80 miles an hour."

But after a training day in Calgary, on October 19, there was a terribleturn. A wayward bobsled accidentally plowed into Pikus-Pace, injuring her badly.

"I sat up and saw my bone sticking out," she remembers. "I saw this pool of blood. And my speedsuit, it was all torn up. I just couldn't believe it."

She knew her right leg was shattered and feared her Olympic dream was too. She remembers thinking, "Wow, I'm done. I'm done competing, now."

But by the time she had surgery — including a titanium rod inserted from knee to ankle — her competitive fire was burning again. She was determined to rehab as fast as she could — eight  hours a day on the underwater treadmill and relentless strength-training — and still try to make the team.

Ordinarily, someone suffering this type of injury wouldn't be permitted any weight-bearing rehab for at least six weeks. But at six weeks, Pikus-Pace was back on her sled.

And Friday she was racing in a World Cup event in Germany. Unfortunately, the U.S. women's team had just one top-10 finisher in the race — meaning it will have only one sled entered in the Olympics next month.

Therefore, Katie Uhlaender, not Pikus-Pace, will likely represent the U.S. in Turin. She was 11th on Friday and has the most World Cup points of any American this season.

But this star-quality athlete knew — and accepted — that it might not happen.

"If I'm not supposed to go," Pikus-Pace said earlier this season, "then it's not my lot in life right now, you know? Maybe 2010 or something, but I'll just take it a day at a time."

She’s taking it ... like a champion.