Monday, Jan 20, 2014
Jazmine Fenlator ’07 will compete in Sochi, Russia, in February
by Rider Sports Information
Rider University graduate Jazmine Fenlator ’07 was officially named to the United States Olympic Bobsled team Jan. 19, marking the first time a Rider varsity athlete will compete in the Olympics.
Fenlator, a two-time Rider Athlete of the Year as a member of the track & field team, will be a part of the U.S. team that competes in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 6-24.
“Jazmine was a tremendous athlete at Rider and she has taken her abilities to a whole new level in earning a berth on the US Olympic team,” says Rider cross country/track & field head coach Bob Hamer. “She has worked very hard for many years and she has made many sacrifices to make this dream come true. She is a true inspiration for all of us at Rider. She deserves all of this success and it could not have happened to a better person.”
Fenlator became involved in bobsledding in September 2007 and was originally a pusher or brakeman. For the last three years she has competed in the more important role as the driver.
Fenlator was a two-time Rider Athlete of the Year, sharing the award her senior year with NBA lottery pick Jason Thompson, currently a member of the Sacramento Kings.
As a senior at Rider Fenlator was named the Most Outstanding Performer at both the Indoor and Outdoor Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Track & Field Championships, leading Rider to a pair of team titles.
Fenlator won five MAAC gold medals that year, earned All-East honors in four different events, set new Rider records in five different events, and qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship in three events.
A journalism major (multimedia communications/advertising) from Wayne, N.J., who graduated magna cum laude, Fenlator was Rider's New Jersey AIAW Woman of the Year and the MAAC's nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year award in 2007.
As a junior in 2006 she was named one of the top 25 performers in the 25-year history of the MAAC, covering all sports except basketball.
“I really enjoyed my time at Rider,” says Fenlator, who was named to CoSIDA's “ESPN The Magazine” Academic All-District 2 women's track and field/cross country team and to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association 2007 All-Academic Team. “I learned a lot of valuable lessons, both on the athletic and academic side. I am very appreciative of the opportunities that enabled me to prepare for my future successes.”
Another Rider alumna, Caroline Lind M.B.A. ’10, has previously competed in the Olympics. Lin won Olympic gold by finishing in first place with her U.S. Women’s Rowing teammates at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.