Athletes

Valerie took the bronze medal at the Women's Bobsled World Championships with teamate Shauna Rohbock (2/07). A San Francisco, Calif., native and University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) graduate, Valerie Fleming was a member of the 2006 U.S. Olympic bobsled team, where she took home the silver medal, along with her partner Shauna Rohbock. The pair was ranked No. 1 in the United States going into the Games and had finished in the top three in every race they had been in together. Earlier this year, Fleming and Rohbock won silver in the first World Cup event in Calgary and bronze at the second World Cup event in Lake Placid. In 2005, the pair won a bronze medal at the World Cup, as well as a silver medal and track record on the Olympic track in Cesana Pariol, Torino. On January 28, 2005, the pair set a new track start record; however, the record was disqualified because the pair crashed, leaving Fleming hospitalized for five days for a burned shoulder, which resulted from sliding down the rest of the track with the sled on top of her. Fleming was a track sprinter at UCSB and began javelin in her senior year of college. She had always dreamed of being an Olympian, but eventually realized that it wouldn't be in track. In 1998, Fleming won a conference title for javelin, but three surgeries in three years forced her to give up the sport. After completing a graduate program at St. Mary's College, a friend suggested she try bobsledding instead. After taking her first ride down the track with Jean Prahm, Fleming thought, "What did I sign up for?" Three years later, she got her answer: an Olympic medal. Most recently, Fleming and Shauna Rohbock won bronze at the 2007 World Championships. (2/07)