Canadians Rush, Lumsden win bobsleigh gold
Canada's Lyndon Rush and Jesse Lumsden won their first two-man bobsleigh World Cup gold medal on Friday.
The duo topped the podium with a two-run time of one minute 44.14 seconds, followed by Maximillian Arndt and Martin Putze of Germany. Beat Hefti and Thomas Lamparter of Switzerland placed third in 1:44.21.
"I think if we are racing in Whistler we should be one of the teams to beat," said Rush, who hails from Humboldt, Sask. "If we put down our best here it should be better than everyone else because we know the track better."
Rush and brakeman Lumsden of Burlington, Ont., were second after their first run, finishing in 52.04 seconds. They turned in the fastest run of the second heat in 52.10 seconds, beating out the field.
Rush's medal was his eighth on the World Cup circuit and second victory in the two-man event. For Lumsden it was the second World Cup medal of his career.
Lumsden, a former running back with the Hamilton Ticats, has been sledding since 2009, and raced as Pierre Lueders' brakeman at Vancouver Olympics in 2010. Lumsden and Rush teamed up at the beginning of this season.
Their first-place finish Friday moved them up to fourth in the overall FIBT standings.
"I knew we were doing well right away," said Lumsden. "There is only so much you can do in the back of the sled after the start and expect to will your team to victory. Now we just have to prepare to win tomorrow in the 4-man event. That is the baby of our team."
Newbie bobsleigh pilot Justin Kripps made his World Cup debut with brakeman Timothy Randall of Burlington. The duo finished in 17th spot.
Kripps' debut is the result of friend and teammate Chris Spring who was involved in a season-ending crash on Jan. 5 at Altenberg, Germany.
"I looked at this race as a great way to gain experience," Kripps said. "Chris is doing really well and posted on his website that he is cheering me on today. Even before his accident he was talking about giving up his spot at this event so I could gain World Cup experience, which speaks to his character."
Earlier in the day, world champion Martins Dukurs captured skeleton gold.
The Olympic silver medallist finished in a two-run time of 1:45.76 , while Frank Rommel of Germany and Alexander Tretiakov of Russia tied for second in 1:46.51. Alexander Kroeckel finished with the third fastest time in 1:46.78.
"This is a really tough track to stitch together two good runs," said Dukurs. "I didn't do it in the Olympic Games and at last year's World Cup. I knew I had to focus on two good runs today."
Dukurs earned a silver medal at the Vancouver Games and followed up with a bronze medal at a World Cup in Whistler last season. Dukurs has won six of seven World Cup races this season and leads the overall rankings with Frank Rommel of Germany second and teammate Tomass Dukurs third.
Canada's men's team has not won a medal yet this season. In only his second World Cup season, Calgary's John Fairbairn had a personal best performance, finishing eighth in 1:47.53 while teammates Michael Douglas of Toronto placed 11th and Eric Neilson of Kelowna, B.C., was 19th.
"I am happy with my runs because this is one of the most technical tracks in the world. The top guys make mistakes too and it feels like it gives me a bit of a chance against them," Fairbairn said.
Olympic champion Jon Montgomery of Russell, Man., has taken the season off to train and prepare for the 2012-2013 Olympic qualifier season. The Canadian team's next stop is Calgary for the final race of the season, Feb. 9-11.
"We work really well together as a team really well," said Fairbairn. "Jon has a ton of knowledge and skill but so does the rest of our team. Jon is coming back next year, which will be even better."