With her face just centimeters from the ice and travelling at speeds of around 100kph, Tionette is one of our toughest athletes. She has a background in elite women’s rugby and was the South Island’s U63kg weightlifting champion in 2006 and 2008. She first competed for New Zealand in the bobsleigh in 2001. Her first skeleton race was in 2004 and her best result in this sport has been 7th at the Skeleton World Cup at St Moritz. She describes her sport as emotionally, physically and mentally stimulating, challenging and rewarding. Tionette says “The Whistler bobsleigh track is relentless because of its speed and technical challenges, unforgiving because there is absolutely no scope for error and serene because it’s set in the mountains. And it can be rewarding…”