Christel Bertens (born 29 May 1983, in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...

) is a Dutch

bobsledder Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsle ...

and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete. Bertens is a runner in a 2-bob mostly alongside

Eline Jurg Eline Jurg (born 30 May 1973 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch bobsledder who has competed since 1996. Competed in two Winter Olympics, she earned her best finish of sixth in the two-woman event at Salt Lake City in 2002. She drove in two-woman with Chr ...

. In 2005 two Dutch female bobs qualified for the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, however the team line-ups were still unsure. At the qualification play-off (named bob-off) held in Oberhof,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

four competitors fought for two seats behind Jurg and the other driver Ilse Broeders. Bertens was the main victim of the qualification process and ended up in fourth position. Jeannette Pennings was teamed-up with her main driver Broeders, while Bertens was replaced by Kitty van Haperen instead, Broeders' first back-up runner. Urta Rozenstruik, Jurg's back-up runner became third and was the reserve runner in case anything would happen with either Pennings or Van Haperen.

External links

Damesbobslee.nl

1983 births Living people Dutch female bobsledders Sportspeople from Tilburg Athletes from North Brabant 21st-century Dutch sportswomen {{Netherlands-bobsleigh-bio-stub