From the sports archives: Foster City native Fleming shows her mettle in winning Olympic medal

Fleming, 28, was a silver medalist in the two-man bobsled at the 2006 Turin Olympics Feb. 22 and has seen her time split among interviews and appearances while her cell phone rings off the hook.

Tuesday, she returned to College of San Mateo to reconnect with the people who, in a roundabout way, led her to the Olympic games. She came to CSM in 1999 looking to improve as a javelin thrower, a sport she picked up at UC Santa Barbara. CSM throws coach Mike Lewis refined her technique before she went on to become a bobsledder. She was on campus to see Lewis and show off her silver medal.

The reunion, which featured big, long hugs between Fleming and Lewis, turned into an impromptu press conference.

“I look at it (the medal) and think, ‘Wow. I really have my own,’” Fleming said.

Despite her success, she said she was disappointed in the way American media reacted to her and teammate Shauna Rohbock’s medal — the only medal Americans won in bobsled.

“Some reporters say Americans feel winning a silver is like being first loser,” Fleming said. “Why do you give a silver and bronze if it doesn’t mean anything? But this is a great honor. We’ve been through so much this year.”

She also wondered when the U.S. bobsled federation would finally realize that Americans can be a force in a sport dominated by the Germans and Swiss. She said those teams have multi-million dollar budgets, while the Americans spend around $50,000.

“Germans are doing stuff (to get better) every year,” Fleming said. “We have a sled that was built in 1992. I think because we had the only team medal (in bobsled), that should open (the federation’s) eyes.”

The medal was obviously the highlight for Fleming during the games. Her event wasn’t until the second week of competition so she didn’t get to spend a lot of time living the “Olympic experience.” She said they didn’t even get in a sled until Feb. 21 so the first week was spent dry-land training and resting. She got to watch some of the downhill skiing in person, but saw a lot of the Olympics like most people — on television.

When the time came for their runs, Fleming and Rohbock were one of the most consistent teams. They were .009 seconds out of first place after their first two runs, but the German team rallied to take gold. Fleming knew she and Rohbock had a good chance at a medal, and on the last run, they were second-to-last. When they got past the finish line, Fleming had to depend on Rohbock’s reaction to know how they did. As the brakeman, Fleming pushes the sled at the start, tucks her head between her knees during the run and stops the sled at the bottom.

“I told [Shauna] before (the final run) you’re going to have to hit the sled pissed off or throw your arms up (in victory),” Fleming said. “I can’t see. I was looking for the clock. When I saw our time, I said, ‘We can’t do any worse than silver.’”

Since the games, Fleming has been inundated with requests. Monday night, she was at the Foster City Council. She enjoys some of the attention, but said she remains relatively anonymous.

“I’m not big on media and press,” Fleming said. “But it’s nice when little kids want to come up and meet you. I know [the attention] comes with it and wouldn’t trade it for anything. We didn’t get any coverage before the games. It’s nice to be in your hometown and be recognized.”

Fleming’s future plans are up in the air but she is leaning toward being in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

“That’s my goal,” she said.