Christel Bertens (born 29 May 1983, in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...

) is a Dutch

bobsledder Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

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 ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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 ...

, 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 is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

four competitors fought for two seats behind Jurg and the other driver

Ilse Broeders Ilse Broeders (born 4 July 1977 in Loon op Zand) is a Dutch bobsledder who competed from 1999 to 2006. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she earned her best finish of tenth in the two-woman event at Salt Lake City in 2002. She drove in the two- ...

. 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 21st-century Dutch women {{Netherlands-bobsleigh-bio-stub