Mariama Jamanka (born 23 August 1990) is a journalist and retired German bobsledder who won Gold in the two-woman event with Lisa Buckwitz at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

Career

A former discus and hammer thrower of Berlin, Jamanka became a bobsledder in 2013. She entered the Bobsleigh World Cup during the 2015–16 season. In January 2017, she won the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Winterberg Winterberg (; Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland. Geography Winterberg is located in the middle ...

with brakewoman

Annika Drazek Annika Drazek (born 11 April 1995) is a German Bobsleigh, bobsledder and former track and field athlete. She was a sprinter, competed at two IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics, IAAF World Youth Championships. In bobsleigh, she competes w ...

. Later the same year, she was part of the gold-winning German team in the mixed team event at the

IBSF World Championships IBSF World Championship may refer to: * IBSF World Snooker Championship * IBSF World Championships (bobsleigh and skeleton) {{Disambiguation ...

Königssee The Königssee () is a natural lake in the southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Most of the lake is within the Berchtesgaden National Park. Description Situated within the Bercht ...

. Before the

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang ( , ; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seo ...

, Germany's head coach

René Spies René Spies (born 5 July 1973 in Winterberg, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German bobsledder who competed from 1991 to 2006. He won a bronze medal in the two-man event at the 2003 FIBT World Championships in Lake Placid, New York. Competing in t ...

changed the brakewomen of the country's two leading two-women bobsleighs: Drazek was assigned to pilot Stephanie Schneider, while Jamanka had to work with Schneider's former brakewoman Lisa Buckwitz, with Schneider and Drazek being the most aspiring German team for the Pyeongchang Games. However, Jamanka and Buckwitz won the event, winning Germany's first two-woman bobsleigh medal since 2006, while Schneider and Drazek, who both became injured during the Games, finished fourth. Jamanka announced her retirement from the sport in April 2022. In January 2024, she started as a sports presenter on German national TV.

Personal

Mariama's mother is German, and her father is from the Gambia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jamanka, Mariama 1990 births Living people German female bobsledders Olympic bobsledders for Germany Bobsledders at the 2018 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 2022 Winter Olympics Bobsledders from Berlin Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in bobsleigh 21st-century German sportswomen