Who knew this pursuit would become what it has become? Evans, a college track and field star, started dabbling in bobsled at the suggestion of Mike Erb, her track coach at Illinois. Her rare combination of speed and power had been seen in Champaign where she not only was an All-American in the shot put but also provided speed as part of the Illini’s 400-meter relay team. Those skills translate perfectly into the brakeman’s role in bobsledding, where in essence Evans’ responsibility is to be a rocket launcher, exploding off the start and spending five or so seconds giving the sled the greatest possible acceleration to start the race.