Jill Bakken is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Olympic bobsledder who has competed since 1994. As driver, she and partner Vonetta Flowers

Vonetta Flowers

Vonetta Flowers is an American bobsledder and athlete. Flowers was a star sprinter and long jumper at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and originally aspired to make the U.S. Summer Olympic Team...

 won the gold medal in Bobsleigh at the 2002 Winter Olympics

Bobsleigh at the 2002 Winter Olympics

The bobsleigh results for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games at Salt Lake City.-Events:-Medal table:-References:***...

 for the U.S. Bakken's best Bobsleigh World Cup season finish was second in the two-woman event in 1999–2000.

Bakken is a graduate of Lake Washington High School

Lake Washington High School

Lake Washington High School is one of four high schools in the Lake Washington School District, with an enrollment of approximately 1076 students. It is in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Kirkland, Washington....

 
and an alumnus of Eastern Washington University

Eastern Washington University

Eastern Washington University is an American public, coeducational university located in Cheney, Washington.Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided into four colleges: Arts and Letters; Business and Public Administration; Science, Health and Engineering; and Social & Behavioral...

, transferring there in 2005. She has also attended the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

 and Oregon State University

Oregon State University

Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...

, where she played soccer.

Bakken is now a driving coach for the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 bobsleigh

Bobsleigh

Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....

team and is married to Florian Linder who is also a coach for the Canadian bobsled team.