'MURICA
When we tried to break down skeleton, we tabbed America's Katie Uhlaender as a medal hopeful, due to her 2012 World Championship victory at Lake Placid.
We'd like to issue a correction. Uhlaender is a medal GUARANTEE, due to her kickass helmet:
(John David Mercer, USA Today Sports)
You see, skeletoners wear helmets because THEY'RE SLIDING DOWN AN ICE TUNNEL AT 90 MILES AN HOUR FACE FIRST AHH AHHHH AHHHH AHHHH and it makes them more aerodynamic. Paint doesn't make them less aerodymanic, so Uhlaender, our American hero, got this one.
Look at the Eagle majestically soaring down the ice:
Underrated aspect: the star on the bottom:
(Alex Livesey, Getty)
Her teammate, Noelle Pikus-Pace, isn't too bad in the helmet department either:
We look forward to seeing Uhlaender and her eagle fly to the podium when the women's skeleton hands out medals on Friday -- like the guy on our gold medal graphic:
— SB Nation (@sbnation) February 12, 2014