Jana Pittman’s first bobsleigh run was almost her last

ON her first run down a bobsleigh track, Jana Pittman, known for her rambling interviews and forthright opinions, was speechless.

IT DOESN’T happen very often. In fact, it may well have been a first.

Jana Pittman usually has plenty to say after a sporting hit-out, eager to share her reflections with anyone within cooee whether it’s coaches, media or friends.

But on her first run down a bobsleigh track, Pittman was speechless. Known for her rambling interviews and forthright opinions, the hurdler-turned-slider was unable to utter a word.

“She didn’t say anything,” recalls Astrid Radjenovic, the driver in Jana Pittman’s two-woman sled which takes to the ice at the Sanki Sliding Centre at the Sochi Winter Olympics later tonight.

“She was pretty ill after her first run and wasn’t sure whether she wanted to go back down again, but I made her do it.

“We waited 10, maybe 15 minutes and then we had to go again. She went down and then she told me later ‘oh after the first one, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back down’.”

Astrid Radjenovic (L) and Jana Pittman (R) pose during an Australian Women's Bobsleigh team portrait session.

Radjenovic says Pittman was white as a ghost that day. But the experienced bobsleigh driver knew exactly what she was doing initiating her latest would-be brakewoman on the treacherous Altenberg track in Germany, which is known as the world’s roughest.

“I’ve actually introduced a couple of girls to the sport on that track and I figure they either sink or swim,” Radjenovic says.

“They either handle the roughness of that track, deal with it and get back in the sled or they go home.”

Needless to say, Pittman dealt with it and is now here in Sochi as the first Australian female to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

Jana Pittman (rear) and Astrid Radjenovic practice during a women Bobsleigh training session at the Sanki sliding centre in Rosa Khutor.

She’s changed a lot since the Jana of old. For one thing, there’s no aura of drama about her. But the biggest change is physical. The 31-year-old bobsledder is 11 kilos heavier than her old running weight — a deliberate gain to maximise her pushing strength at the start of the bobsleigh run.

“I’m eating for Australia. Everything, meat and meat and carbs and more meat,” she says.

She is also gulping down four protein shakes a day and doing a demanding gym routine involving lots of squats and heaving lifting.

All of this has turned Pittman into the brakewoman of Astrid Radjenovic’s dreams.

A veteran of two previous Olympics, Radjenovic has had 17 brakewomen in her career. While Radjenovic, who is also 31 and also a former 400m hurdler, rates her 2006 partner Kylie Reed highly, she says her combination with Pittman is the strongest yet.

Classic pic.. @AstridBobsleigh head down bumb up at work.. 2.5 days till we start ;) pic.twitter.com/VWLpD9Vk5D

“Kylie was Australian long jump champion and probably our push start wasn’t as strong then because I hadn’t developed as well as an athlete. But now I’ve been eight years in the sport so I’m a little bit more powerful as an athlete, and having Jana now with me is a strong combination.”

Astrid and Jana won’t win a medal in Sochi. Radjenovic says they just can’t compete on dollar terms with the established sledding nations.

“We just sort of bought a sled from a backyard sled maker,” she says. “It’s new but it’s got an old frame, it cost about $60,000.”

By contrast the US team will compete on sleds made by BMW for an undisclosed amount, as part of a sponsorship deal said to be worth as much as $24 million.

But for this Aussie duo, it’s not about medals. For Radjenovic, the challenge is to show the better-funded teams that they can mix it with the best. And for Pittman, it’s all about second chances.

Classic.. with @LydiaLassila. Mums in ice bin recovery session. #Sochi2014 @AUSOlympicTeam pic.twitter.com/wmko24yNYD

“I feel like I’ve been given a real gift, and a real second chance and I’ll carry that with me for the rest of my life even if I don’t go to another Olympics together,” she says.

“To be honest, the biggest thing for me is I got here injury free. I lost the last three Olympics with injury really. To be able to finish the last training session and know I’ll be putting my spikes on with nothing wrong with me is phenomenal.

“It doesn’t matter what the result is. The fact that we got here together, it’s just awesome. I could retire happily.”

Before she retires from bobsleigh, Pittman might care to brush up on the terminology of her sport. For example, the bits on the bottom of the sled are called runners, as in the movie “Cool Runnings”.

“I call runners wheels,” she admits with an embarrassed grin.

And after bobsleigh and Sochi. Back to hurdling and a tilt at Rio, perhaps?

“I’d love to but we’ll wait and see.”