Chicago bobsledder Aja Evans was officially selected for the U.S. bobsled team that will compete in next month's Sochi Olympics.
Evans will join Lauryn Williams and Lolo Jones as the push athletes in Sochi, along with drivers Jamie Greubel, Elana Meyers and Jazmine Fenlator.
U.S. officials announced the selections Sunday night.
"This is the deepest field of push athletes we've ever had," said Darrin Steele, the CEO of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. "We knew heading into the season that the Olympic selection was going to be extremely difficult. It's a good problem to have, but it meant that some outstanding athletes would not make the Olympic team."
In short, the U.S. had five women who became de facto finalists for the three push spots. Evans was widely considered a lock to make the team after a series of strong performances, both on and off the track.
Evans started her career as a track star, but the shift to bobsledding began in 2012. After training at Highland Park's EFT Sports Performance and earning a high score at the 2012 Team Official Combine, Evans hopped on the fast track to success. Now, she has her eye on Sochi.
With a silver medal under her belt, Evans is excited to return to Sochi. She said the whole season has been "grand," and she can't wait to kick things up another notch.
