U.S. Olympian vonetta Flowers
Bobsledder
2002 U.S. Olympic gold medalist / 2006 U.S. Olympian
check out our other athlete bios
Olympic Trials.
At the 1996 trials, she competed in the 100 meter dash and the long jump but was unsuccessful in her quest to earn a spot on the team. Vonetta spent the next four years focusing all of her energy on training for an opportunity to compete at the 2000 Olympic Games in the long jump, but just a few months before the trials began, she found herself lying on a hospital bed getting ready for her fifth surgery in eight years. Against all odds, she believed in herself and decided to lace up her spikes one last time, but it wasn't meant to be. After a disappointing performance at the 2000 trials, Vonetta felt it was time to retire from track and field, with hopes of starting a family.
Two days after the 2000 Olympic Trials, Vonetta's husband, Johnny, spotted a flyer urging track and field athletes to try out for the U.S. bobsled team. The only thing Vonetta and Johnny knew about bobsledding was what they learned from the movie, Cool Runnings. Johnny had also been an outstanding track and field athlete; even so, their chances seemed so slim that the idea of their making the team became more and more amusing. Regardless, Vonetta really was not interested. She was still dealing with the reality that she would not live out her lifelong dream of competing in the Olympic Games. After several hours of joking back and forth, however, she agreed to accompany Johnny as he tried out for the team. Shortly after the competition started, Johnny pulled his hamstring, and Vonetta agreed to live out his dream by completing the six-item test. That unselfish act would quickly change their lives.
Less than two months after stepping in for Johnny, Vonetta was competing for the U.S. in bobsled, traveling to foreign countries and eating foods the names of which she couldn't even pronounce. Vonetta's track and field background was an advantage in bobsled, and she quickly became the #1 brake woman in the U.S. By the end of her rookie season, Vonetta and her former teammate, Bonny Warner, were ranked second in the U.S. and third in the world.
A year later Vonetta and her new partner, Jill Bakken, slid into history by winning the gold medal at the inaugural Women's Bobsled event at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, which was the first medal for a U.S. bobsled team in 46 years!
P&G, Proud Partner of the U.S. Olympic Team. 36 USC 220506.
What did your mom pass on to you
that makes you the
fearless female
you are today?
Vonetta: My mom has always believed in me. Ever since I was a little girl, she believed that I could win every race I entered. This type of optimistic thinking helped me to believe in myself—on and off the field—even when I faced girls who were much older and more experienced.
Is there anything
you'd like to say
to your mom today?
Vonetta: Thanks for always believing in me, supporting me and making me believe that I could accomplish anything! You've shown me what it means to be fearless. You've faced your fears by flying to Utah and Italy (even though you needed someone to hold your hand) to support me on two of the biggest days of my life. I believe in you and I know that you will continue to be fearless and win your fight against cancer. I Love YOU!!!
Why Clinical Strength® Sport
is right for Vonetta
How do you keep a bobsledder protected? Or, for Vonetta, the better question might be: How do you keep a busy mom protected?
"As an active mother of three, I'm constantly on the go. Therefore, I don't have time to worry about being protected. Secret gives me a great sense of confidence, all day long."
