Brittany Bowe Sets U.S. Record in 100 Meters

Racing News:

Brittany Bowe Sets Record in 100 Meters at Indoor Championships

Bowe and Jessica Smith Trade Wins at First Day of U.S. Indoor Nationals

By Robert "Just the Factoids" Burnson

Seventeen-year-old Brittany Bowe set a U.S. record Monday in the 100-meter time trial.

Competing during the first day of the U.S. National Indoor Speed Skating Championships in Pensacola, Fla., Bowe sprinted the distance in 10.742 seconds.

Her time broke the old mark, set by Julie Glass in 2002, by 18 hundredths of a second.

Glass, who has only competed in a handful of races this year, finished third in the time trial.

Jessica Smith finished second but later in the day beat Bowe in the 1000 meters. Her time was 1 minute and 41.022 seconds, which is nearly three seconds behind the U.S. record set by Bowe last year.

Bowe now holds three of the four pro-elite women's indoor speed skating records recognized by USA Roller Sports.

In the men's 100-meter time trial, Bowe's teammate Joey Mantia won with a time of 10.012 seconds.

Jeremy Anderson won the men's 1500 meters, although his time (2:27.334) was one second slower than the winning time posted by Justin Kubicheck in the senior division.

Despite concerns about the aftermath of Hurricane Dennis, skaters have experienced few problems in Pensacola, said race official Jim White.

"There are some boarded up windows," he said. "But the vast majority of stores are open. It's pretty much business as usual."

The hurricane did not appear to discourage many skaters from attending. "Turnout is pretty good," White said.

The championships are the pinnacle of the indoor racing season in the United States.

(posted on July 19th, 2005)