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CESANA, Italy, Feb 21, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The German team of Sandra Kiriasis and Anja Schneiderheinze turned a close competition into a rout Tuesday while winning gold in the women's bobsled.
Only 0.09 of a second separated the first three teams going into Tuesday's final two runs, but the Germans had the fastest time in both of them to win the event by almost three-quarters of a second.
Americans Shauna Rohbock and Valerie Fleming, who began the day in third place, won the silver medal by 0.32 of a second over Italians Gerda Weissensteiner and Jennifer Isacco.
Germans Susi-Lisa Erdmann and Nicole Herschmann, bronze medal winners in Salt Lake City, were second place after two runs before fading to fifth. Americans Jean Prahm and Vonetta Flowers finished sixth.
This was the second women's bobsled contested at the Olympics and the United States has earned a medal in both of them. Jill Bakken teamed with Flowers to win gold four years ago.
The winning German team all but clinched the victory with its third run -- a 57.34-second effort that was easily the best of the field. The Germans led the Americans by 0.53 of a second going into the final run.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
