Chris Spring Slides into Top-10 in First-Ever World Cup Four-Man Bobsleigh
IGLS, Aut.—Canada’s Chris Spring got his four-man bobsleigh career off to an impressive start with a 10th-place finish in his first-ever World Cup in Igls, Austria on Sunday.
Calgary’s Spring and his crew of Toronto’s Tim Randall, Calgary’s Derek Plug and Graem Rinholm, of Saskatoon, put together fast starts with solid driving to post the top-Canadian two-run time at one minute, 43.86 seconds (1:43.86).
“That is a fantastic result and a great achievement for these guys in their first four-man race,” said Tom Delahunty, head coach, Canadian Bobsleigh Team. “The team pushed 5.10 which is right up there with the top sleds so I’m very proud of them.”
The day wasn’t as bright for pilot Lyndon Rush, of Humboldt, Sask., and the Canada 1 sled. Rush and his newly-formed crew of Jesse Lumsden, of Burlington, Ont., Cody Sorensen, of Ottawa, and Edmonton’s Neville Wright, struggled down the flat 1,220-metre Austrian track where he finished in 13th with a time of 1:43.94.
“Today was a combination of a new crew, a poor start and unfortunately not great driving,” said Delahunty. “It just didn’t happen today, but it is not all doom and gloom. We’ve talked about things at lunch and I believe this is just a minor blip and Lyndon will fight his way back into the elite group.”
Alexsandr Zubkov piloted the Russia 1 slid to the gold medal with a time of 1:43.05. Olympic champion, Steven Holcomb, locked up the silver in the USA 1 sled with a time of 1:43.11. Germany’s Thomas Florschuetz and his crew finished third at 1:43.41.
The Canadian Team now travels to La Plagne, France for a World Cup next weekend.
Bobsleigh CANADA Skeleton is a non-profit organization and the national governing body for the sports of bobsleigh and skeleton in Canada. With the support of its valued corporate partners – VISA, Dow Chemical, Adidas, KBC Helmets, Eurotech – Viking Engineering, SAIT Polytechnic, Therapeutica – along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium, Bobsleigh CANADA Skeleton develops Olympic and world champions. Please visit us at www.bobsleighcanadaskeleton.ca.
Complete Results: www.fibt.com
Top-Five Men’s Bobsleigh Results:
1. Zubkov/Egorov/Trunenkov/Hreakov, RUS 1, 1:43.05; 2. Holcomb/Olsen/Langton/Tomasevicz, USA 1, 1:43.11; 3. Florschuetz/Rostig/Kuske/Blascheck, GER 1, 1:43.41; 4. Kasjanov/Negodaylo/Belugin/Mooseev, RUS 2, 1:43.43; 5. Muskalans/Dreiskens/Broks/Dambis, LAT 1, 1:43.49
Canadian Results:
10. Chris Spring, Calgary/Tim Randall, Toronto/Derek Plug, Calgary/Graeme Rinholm, Saskatoon, CAN 2, 1:43.86; 13. Lyndon Rush, Humboldt, Sask./Jesse Lumsden, Burlington, Ont./Cody Sorensen, Ottawa/Neville Wright, Edmonton, CAN 1, 1:43.94
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