Jan 29, 2010 - 04:30 AM

By Randy Starkman

PICKERING -- When Shelley-Ann Brown got the news she'd made the Olympic bobsled team, the Pickering native bawled.

They were not happy tears.

Brown was upset because she knew it meant Jennifer Ciochetti, the teammate and friend she'd competed against all winter for the spot as brakeman on pilot Helen Upperton's sled, was being left behind.

While battling for a coveted Olympic berth, they'd forged a bond that stayed strong despite the sport's usually cutthroat nature. That's what made it so hard when Canadian head coach Tuffy Latour delivered the team's decision to Ciochetti, Brown and Upperton last week in a hotel room in Igls, Austria.

"Shelley cried more than Jenny did," said Upperton.

Brown, a former track star with a masters in educational psychology, confirmed that was the case.

"She actually comforted me," said Brown of Ciochetti. "How do you celebrate for yourself when you feel so much for the people who deserve it just as much as you do?

"I was just kind of overwhelmed with the sadness that I felt for the people who didn't make it, Jenny in particular. She just comforted me and then we went back and forth."

The Canadian bobsled-skeleton team was unveiled Wednesday in a raucous celebration at a gymnasium at a Calgary school. There were 700 kids decked out in red and white cheering for the athletes as their names were announced. The athletes ran a gauntlet of students, giving low-fives as they made their way to the podium to get team jackets.

"I know for Helen and for me, too, she (Ciochetti) has been there every step of the way," said Brown. "We couldn't have been here without her. For sure, when we slide, she'll be sliding with us.

"If we're gonna get T-shirts that say Jenny on them or something, we're gonna do something so she rides in the sled with us because she's definitely a part of this team and always will be."

In some ways, Upperton seems to be dealing with survivor's guilt. She and Ciochetti have been a tight unit in the four years leading to these Games.

When Upperton's ribs were damaged last season, it was Ciochetti who had to tie her shoes and push the sled harder than ever. Ciochetti was there throughout the growing pains of adjusting to a new sled, too.

But now, when it matters most, Ciochetti won't be beside Upperton and that's been hard for the Calgary pilot to accept.

"I'm proud Shelley-Ann is my teammate," said Upperton. "You know how some people embody the Olympic spirit? Shelley-Ann is one of these people.

"It's just not what I dreamt of. When I pictured the Games in my mind all summer and through most of the winter, that's not what I saw. It doesn't mean it's not great. It just means it's not what was kind of the plan."

But Upperton knows it's the right choice. Ciochetti was never able to get untracked this season. It's been the same story for Upperton, but it's the brakeman that's replaceable.

"It's just not working this year," said Upperton. "There's so many reasons why.

"But I have the advantage of having another race left to show everybody what I really can do and she doesn't."

Brown is regarded as one of the strongest brakeman on the circuit. She was a 100-metre sprinter and 100-metre hurdler who was all-America at Nebraska and won a Big 12 championship. She was a teammate there with Olympic bronze-medal hurdler Priscilla Lopes-Schliep.

Brown's family was a lot happier than she was when they got the news about her being an Olympian.

"They've seen all my ups and all my many, many downs," said Brown.

"They were on pins and needles ... waiting to hear."

Randy Starkman is a reporter with The Toronto Star