Mariama Jamanka

Retired German bobsledder

Mariama Jamanka
Jamanka in 2018
Personal information
NationalityGerman
Born (1990-08-23) 23 August 1990 (age 33)
West Berlin,[1] Germany
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
CountryGermany
SportBobsleigh
EventTwo-woman
ClubBRC Thüringen
Turned pro2012
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang Two-woman
Silver medal – second place 2022 Beijing Two-woman
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Königssee Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Whistler Two-woman
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Winterberg Two-woman
Gold medal – first place 2019 Königssee Two-woman
Gold medal – first place 2022 St. Moritz Monobob
Silver medal – second place 2018 Innsbruck-Igls Two-woman
Silver medal – second place 2022 St. Moritz Two-woman
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Winterberg Two-woman

Mariama Jamanka (born 23 August 1990) is a journalist and retired German bobsledder who won Gold in the two-woman event with Lisa Buckwitz at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[2]

Career

A former discus and hammer thrower of Berlin, Jamanka became a bobsledder in 2013.[3] She entered the Bobsleigh World Cup during the 2015–16 season. In January 2017, she won the European Championship in Winterberg with brakewoman Annika Drazek. Later the same year, she was part of the gold-winning German team in the mixed team event at the IBSF World Championships in Königssee.

Before the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Germany's head coach René Spies changed the brakewomen of the country's two leading two-women bobsleighs: Drazek was assigned to pilot Stephanie Schneider, while Jamanka had to work with Schneider's former brakewoman Lisa Buckwitz, with Schneider and Drazek being the most aspiring German team for the Pyeongchang Games.[4] However, Jamanka and Buckwitz won the event, winning Germany's first two-woman bobsleigh medal since 2006, while Schneider and Drazek, who both became injured during the Games, finished fourth.[3]

Jamanka announced her retirement from the sport in April 2022.[5]

In January 2024, she started as a sports presenter on German national TV.[6]

Personal

Mariama's mother is German, and her father is from the Gambia.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Skeleton Bob Rennrodel 2016/2017" (PDF). German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation (in German). p. 30. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Mariama Jamanka". Pyeongchang 2018. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b Kreisl, Volker (21 February 2018). "Die lässige Anfängerin rauscht zu Gold". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  4. ^ Hackenbruch, Felix (21 February 2018). "Bob-Gold für die Hammerwerferin". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Olympic Champion Mariama Jamanka announces retirement" (Press release). International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  6. ^ https://www.sport1.de/news/wintersport/bob/2023/09/tv-uberraschung-olympiasiegerin-wird-ard-moderatorin
  7. ^ "Oberhofs coole Berlinerin Mariama Jamanka mit Blitzstart in die Weltklasse". Thüringer Allgemeine. 16 February 2017.

External links

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World champions in two-woman bobsleigh
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World champions in bobsleigh and skeleton mixed team
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  • World Athletics