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Shelley Osterloh Reporting The world's best skeleton sliders are back at the Utah Olympic Park this week for a World Cup Event.
And for two Utah sliders who have been the best in the world, it means returning to the track after a rough year of Olympic disappointment.
Going into the Olympics, Orem's Noelle Pikus Pace was the defending World Cup Skeleton Champion as the first American woman to win that title. But a runaway bobsled nearly took off her leg. Though she had recovered enough to slide in Torino, the downtime cost her her spot on the Olympic team. Still, she is glad to be back on the ice.
Noelle Pikus-Pace, Skeleton racer: "I'm still a little bit off, still not in the rhythm of how I want to be, but this year for me is more about having fun and not about rankings and placement. I just want to get back into it and find the fun in skeleton again."
She says that she's hoping to have a good season, but won't beat herself up if she's not consistently at the top.
Noelle Pikus-Pace, Skeleton racer: "I'm not going to put myself through that mental stress until it gets closer to the Olympics because that's what it's about the Olympic year."
And Salt Lake's Zach Lund is back on the U.S. team after being suspended from competition because he tested positive for a banned substance---a drug he had used for years to combat hair loss. Though it was determined he did not cheat, he too missed his chance at the Olympics.
Zach Lund, Skeleton racer: "I just want to start having fun again. Last year took the fun out of it for me for a while and it kind of put a bitter taste in my mouth. And I want to get rid of that and I want to start having fun again, because when I'm having fun is when I do well "
Lund was the World Cup leader going into the Olympics and after the suspension was lifted he easily got his spot back on the team winning the three races at the U.S. team trials. "
And Salt Lake's Chris Hedquist is looking to do well in the World Cup.
Chris Hedquist, U.S. Skeleton: "It means quite a lot, I mean you are racing against the best in the world, I want to see where I fit in"
And we found another well known Utah Slider at the track--Tristan Gale, who won gold in 2002, is starting her coaching career for Italy.
The Skeleton World Cup takes place tomorrow at the Utah Olympic Park. The women's event begins and 9:00, the men's is at 1:00.
The Bobsled competition is on Friday and Saturday.
