Noelle Pikus-Pace takes bronze in World Cup skeleton race

• Bronze was first medal since 2010 retirementPikus-Pace was 2006 gold medal favorite before accidentAfter retiring to raise a family she now totes family alongBronze winner quit to raise a family and now totes them along

Noelle Pikus-Pace won a bronze medal today in the women's skeleton in Winterberg, Germany. It was her first World Cup podium finish in three years.

Pikus-Pace had retired after the 2010 Olympics to raise a family but recently decided to re-enter the sport.

"I'm thrilled to be back in the medals," Pikus-Pace said. "After team trials I knew where I was situated, and I started to set my sights high. I feel better than ever, and it's so great to be sharing this experience with my family this time around."

The Winterberg track was where Pikus-Pace won her first ever World Cup race in 2004.

"It's not just me standing up there anymore," Pikus-Pace said of her husband and two children. "As soon as I cross the finish line I'm looking for my family. It makes it that much more fulfilling to have them here with me."

Shelly Rudman of Great Britain won the gold medal with Germany's Anja Huber finishing second.

In 2007, Pikus Pace was the first American women to be World Champion in skeleton. That followed one of the low points in her career. She was favored to win a gold medal in the 2006 Olympics but was hit by a runaway bobsled during the team trials in Calgary and broke her right leg.

She finished fourth in the 2010 Olympics -- being one-tenth of a second off the medal stand -- and then retired.