Jeannette Pennings (born 7 October 1977 in
Alphen aan den Rijn) 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 eve ...
athlete. The high jumper
Wilbert Pennings is her brother. She started with international bobsleigh competitions in 1999. She is the runner in a 2-bob mostly alongside
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- ...
. Broeders and Pennings appeared on their first Olympics at the
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
. They were named among the possible surprise medalists, but were unable to reach this effort. 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 ...
in
Turin
Turin ( , 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 from 1861 to 1865. The ...
; 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 Broeders and the other driver
Eline Jurg. Pennings ended up in first position and joined Broeders in her team. At the Olympics Broeders and Pennings started off as first Dutch team, but were unable to recover a mistake in the upper half of the track, which resulted in a crash. Unless the bob crashed it still was able to reach the finish, with the frightened bobsledders still inside. They were all right and had no physical problems. They were allowed to return for the remaining three runs, but mentally they were hit and withdrew from competition.
External links
Damesbobslee.nl
1977 births
Living people
Dutch female bobsledders
Bobsledders at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Bobsledders at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Olympic bobsledders of the Netherlands
Sportspeople from Alphen aan den Rijn
21st-century Dutch women
{{Netherlands-bobsleigh-bio-stub