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Noelle PIKUS-PACE

United States

Gender: Female
Nationality: -

Birthday: 8 December 1982
Age: 31

Height: 1.78 m (5' 10'')
Weight: 72 kg / 159 lbs

Place of Birth: United States, PROVO
Place of Residence: -

Skeleton

Support athlete:

Medals

Skeleton
Women
Silver

Athlete competitions and results

13 February, 11:30 Women's Heat 1
Noelle PIKUS-PACE
Time: 58.68 (+0.25)
Rank: 3

13 February, 12:40 Women's Heat 2
Noelle PIKUS-PACE
Time: 1:57.33 (+0.44)
Rank: 2

14 February, 19:40 Women's Heat 3
Noelle PIKUS-PACE
Time: 2:55.58 (+0.78)
Rank: 2

14 February, 20:50 Women's Heat 4
Noelle PIKUS-PACE
Time: 3:53.86 (+0.97)
Rank: 2

Additional Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Olympic Winter Games
4	Women	2010	Vancouver, BC, CAN	3:36.46
World Championships
1	Mixed Team	2013	St. Moritz, SUI	4:31.29
1	Women	2007	St. Moritz, SUI	4:44.13
2	Women	2013	St. Moritz, SUI	4:39.17
2	Mixed Team	2007	St. Moritz, SUI	4:43.21
2	Women	2005	Calgary, AB, CAN	3:52.52

World Cup Rankings overview - displays all rankings from 2010/11, top three for earlier seasons

Season	Women
2013/2014	2
2012/2013	12
2006/2007	2
2004/2005	1

Best performance per season in World Cup events from 2010/2011

Season	Women	Team
2013/2014	4 x 1st	-
2012/2013	2 x 1st	1 x 4th

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Ten best World Cup performances in current season
1	Women	2013/2014	Konigssee, GER	52.92
1	Women	2013/2014	St. Moritz, SUI	2:19.88
1	Women	2013/2014	Lake Placid, NY, USA	1:51.37
1	Women	2013/2014	Park City, UT, USA	1:39.54
2	Women	2013/2014	Igls, AUT	1:49.36
2	Women	2013/2014	Winterberg, GER	1:58.10
3	Women	2013/2014	Lake Placid, NY, USA	56.72
	Women	2013/2014	Calgary, AB, CAN	DSQ

Legend
DNS-Did not start, DNQ-Did not qualify for final run, DSQ-Disqualified

Occupation: Athlete, Business Owner
Family: Husband Janson Pace, children Lacee and Traycen
Coach: Tuffy Latour [national] (USA) from 2010 (yahoo.com, 23 Nov 2013; teamusa.org, 28 Feb 2010)
Injuries: She carried a back injury and concussion-type symptoms into the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, which limited the amount of time she was able to spend training. (nbcsports.com, 15 Feb 2014, 13 Feb 2014)

In July 2009 scans revealed a stress fracture to her fibula and areas of stress around the rod that holds the tibia in her right leg. While doctors advised her that the rod would eventually need to be removed, resulting in another fracture, she decided to wait until after the 2009/10 season to undergo surgery. The injury prevented her from doing certain exercises, including sprinting. (seattletimes.com, 15 Jul 2009)

She suffered a compound fracture to her right leg in October 2005 after being struck by a bobsleigh at the Olympic track in Calgary, AB, Canada. She underwent surgery and had a titanium rod inserted to support the broken fibula and tibia. She returned to competition seven weeks after the operation. (oncekids.blogspot.com.au, 06 Sep 2012; USBSF, 21 Oct 2005)

Education: Business Administration - Colorado Technical University, Denver, CO, USA
Languages Spoken: English
Other Sports: She received a scholarship to compete in athletics for the University of Utah in the United States. She transferred to the track team at Utah Valley State College in 2002 and competed in the high jump, shot put and heptathlon events. (noellepikuspace.com, 01 Mar 2013; USBSF, 22 Sept 2005)
Previous Olympics: Vancouver 2010

Additional Information

Start of sporting career
She took up bobsleigh in Park City, UT, United States, during her junior year of high school in 2000. A talent programme was recruiting track and field athletes and she was asked to try out. Following her introduction to winter sports, she switched from bobsleigh to skeleton in 2001. (teamusa.org, 17 Jun 2009)

Reason for taking up this sport
She was encouraged by her heptathlon coach to join a developmental bobsleigh programme. Following a mediocre season on the junior circuit, she opted to take up skeleton instead. (teamusa.org, 23 Feb 2005)

Superstitions / Rituals
She listens to country music right up until the start of each run as a way of relaxing. (mtv.com, 12 Feb 2010)

General
NOT SO FAST
Her win at the 2013 World Cup event in Calgary, AB, Canada, was taken away after a successful protest by the British team, who complained about a piece of tape on her the handle of her toboggan. The tape had been cleared earlier in the week by officials, but was deemed to have possibly aided her in gripping her sled on the day of the event. (insidethegames.biz, 29 Nov 2013)

RETIREMENT, RETURN AND FUTURE PLANS
She left the sport after the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver to spend more time taking care of her children. However, after having a miscarriage and following persuasion from her husband Janson, she returned to the sport in June 2012. "I told him, 'The only way I can do this is if we do it as a family. I can't leave my family for months to train and compete.'" She plans to retire for a second time following the 2014 Games in Sochi. (nbcsports.com, 15 Feb 2014; usatoday.com, 15 Dec 2013; sltrib.com, 16 Feb 2013; deseretnews.com, 28 Oct 2012)

NATIONAL FIRST
She was the first US athlete to win the overall World Cup skeleton title. (USBSF, 22 Sept 2005)

DOCUMENTARY
She is the subject of a documentary by Matthew Fults called '114 Days', which chronicles her efforts to rehabilitate her broken leg in time to compete at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin. (noellepikuspace.com, 17 Jun 2009)

SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
She owns a small business called 'Snow Fire' that sells hats. It features logos from several colleges in Utah, United States. (Twitter profile, 02 Aug 2013; teamusa.org, 05 Dec 2012)

Social Media
Hear more from the athlete via their website 1, website 2, Twitter, Facebook and Facebook.