Over the past year, Lauren Gibbs has learned how to best push a 400-pound bobsled for just a few seconds, then jump inside for an icy, one-minute thrill ride along a plunging, twisty, one-mile track at gripping speeds of up to 80 mph.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e hurling yourself down a mountain at 80 miles per hour in a tin can and the
back of the sled is not the smoothest ride. It鈥檚 cold, slippery, and you hear rattling,鈥�
Gibbs says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no other sensation like it. I describe it as really bad turbulence,
like a turbulent rollercoaster.鈥�
Lauren Gibbs, center, is flanked by fellow USA Women's National Bobsled Team members
Cherelle Garrett, left, and Lauryn Williams.
Gibbs is one of eight members of the United States National Women鈥檚 Bobsled Team and
she brings the same drive and determination to the sport that she applied to earn
her MBA last year. As the push athlete and brakeman, Gibbs helps power the sled at
the start of the race using enormous strength. Her immediate goal is to be good enough
to remain on the team for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea: Gibbs must qualify
annually. 鈥淚鈥檓 30 so if there鈥檚 ever a time to make it to the Olympics, this is my
chance,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f you want something badly enough, you will find a way to prioritize
that goal. Anything that鈥檚 worthwhile takes hard work.鈥�
Team USA assistant bobsled coach Mike Kohn, a 2002 Olympic medalist, defines Gibbs
as 鈥渁 raw athlete with a lot of ability who has a great attitude.鈥� Ashley Walden,
the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation鈥檚 operations manager, says Gibbs is a 鈥渉uge
asset to the team.鈥�
鈥淲hen I met Lauren in Lake Placid for the preliminary push championships, she was
completely new to the sport and faced a steep learning curve,鈥� Walden explains. 鈥淭his
didn't discourage her. In fact, it did the opposite- it challenged and motivated her.
She brings enthusiasm and determination to the women's bobsled team that is contagious.
She is a true team player.鈥�
The national team spent the winter months competing in the World Cup and Intercontinental
Cup tours in the United States, Canada, Austria, France, Germany, Norway, and Russia.
Gibbs and her racing partner, Olympic Bronze Medalist Jamie Greubel Poser, earned
two Bronze Medals in the season opening and closing World Cup races.
A Los Angeles native, Gibbs played soccer as a child, and volleyball in high school.
In college, the 5鈥�10 Gibbs served as volleyball captain and hitter for Brown University
in Rhode Island, where she was awarded with Academic All-Ivy League honors. After
graduating in 2006 with a degree in public and private sector organizations, business,
and entrepreneurship, Gibbs maintained her athleticism by becoming active in CrossFit.
Bobsled was never even remotely on her radar.
Gibbs was working out in a gym when a friend noticed her tremendous lifting strength
and suggested she consider the sport of bobsled. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 take her seriously because
I鈥檇 never even seen a bobsled race,鈥� Gibbs remarks.
Developments rapidly picked up speed. Gibbs attended a bobsled recruitment event in
Colorado Springs, Colorado in August, and did so well she was invited to a weeklong
push camp at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York, in September where
she finished the fastest of 10 women. In October she competed in the national push
championships in Lake Placid against returning members of the national team, earning
second place. In November, she competed in the U.S. selection races in Park City,
Utah, where she won a race with Elana Meyers Taylor, the 2014 Olympic Silver Medalist.
That success secured Gibbs a spot on the eight-member USA Women's National Bobsled
Team.
鈥淲hen I first started, I was anxious I wasn鈥檛 going to like it, or that I was going
to be scared. I鈥檓 not a huge fan of rollercoasters and going fast,鈥� Gibbs says. 鈥淏ut
I love how hard everybody works, the camaraderie, and jumping in the back of a bobsled
and seeing what happens.鈥�
Gibbs credits Pepperdine with encouraging her to be confident. Gibbs says she took
a chance on the University after being accepted into a number of well-known schools
for her master鈥檚 work. 鈥淭hose programs were bigger than what I was looking for. I
needed something that would fit me better and I liked that Pepperdine鈥檚 programs focused
on presentations and papers. You can鈥檛 fake your way through that,鈥� Gibbs explains.
鈥淚f it hadn鈥檛 been for Pepperdine, I鈥檓 not sure I would have had the confidence to
take the risk and try bobsled.鈥�
Regina Korossy (MBA '06), Pepperdine鈥檚 regional director of executive programs at
the Graziadio School of Business and Management, recruited Gibbs for the master鈥檚
program and served as the athlete鈥檚 class advisor. 鈥淟auren excelled in her time at
Brown, in her career, and was at the top of her MBA class,鈥� Korossy explains. 鈥淟auren
is a team player in all aspects of her life, so it was no surprise that she was trying
out for the bobsled team鈥攊f anyone could transition seamlessly into a completely different
sport, Lauren would.鈥�
After her bobsled gig ends, Gibbs plans to apply the lessons learned from the sport
to her business career which includes seven years of experience as a regional manager
at several large companies and at a start-up firm. She is considering returning to
management, or pursuing consumer satisfaction, life coaching, or public speaking.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to work for a company where I can make a true impact in the operation, including
consumer satisfaction,鈥� Gibbs says. 鈥淚 like to challenge myself to do things that
most others haven鈥檛 so that maybe people will want to listen to what I have to say.鈥�
Watch Gibbs in action.