Contact: Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Manager
(518) 354-2250, abird@usbsf.com
Winterberg weather dampers men’s skeleton race
WINTERBERG, Germany (Dec. 16, 2011)–The men’s skeleton race was equally as unpredictable as this morning’s women’s race. Conditions worsened throughout the competition and the jury decided to cancel the second heat after two holds were placed on the track. Unfortunately, the U.S. men were victim to the inconsistent conditions and failed to qualify for tomorrow’s final.
“While this is typical snowy weather for Winterberg, the gale force winds aren’t optimal for racing,” said Tuffy Latour, U.S. skeleton head coach. “It was definitely a tough day for our men. Conditions aren’t great for a first attempt at a three-heat event, but I think it could be a great format for future races.”
The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation decided to test a three-heat race format in Winterberg. Since the second run was canceled, athletes only had one chance to slide into the top 10 to qualify for tomorrow’s final.
John Daly (Smithtown, N.Y.) was in the running for a top 10 finish, but he was unable to climb higher than 14th with a run of 58.52 seconds. Daly has had a rough start to the season, but he’s hoping bad luck runs in three and that he can turn his luck around for the second half of the season.
Matt Antoine (Prairie du Chien, Wisc.) lost momentum after coming out of the start groove and bumping the left wall before entering the first corner, and he was unable to make up time down the course. Antoine slid into 19th position after clocking a run of 58.73 seconds, while Kyle Tress (Ewing, N.J.) fought his way down the course for 21st position after sliding to the finish in 59.28 seconds.
Current World Cup leader Martins Dukurs was in first while Alexander Tretiakov and Tomass Dukurs were close behind in second and third, respectively. Today’s run only served as a qualifier, so the medalists will be decided based on tomorrow’s final run.
Annie O’Shea and Katie Uhlaender qualified for the women’s skeleton final earlier this morning, and they will compete in between the men’s two-man bobsled event tomorrow. Watch a live feed of the events at www.FIBT.com.
For media inquiries, please contact Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Manager, at abird@usbsf.com, or at (518) 354-2250.
Qualification Results:
1. Martins Dukurs (LAT) 57.26; 2. Alexander Tretiakov (RUS) 57.55; 3. Tomass Dukurs (LAT) 57.64;…14. John Daly (USA) 58.52; 19. Matt Antoine (USA) 58.73; 21. Kyle Tress (USA) 59.28;
About the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation
The United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. The USBSF would like to thank its sponsors, suppliers and contributors for their support: BMW of North America, Under Armour, United States National Guard, Kampgrounds of America, National Strength and Conditioning Association, Vivat!, Global Forwarding, KBC Helmets, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, EDAS/Ripxx, UberSense, Tesa Tape and Ferris Mfg. Corp. For more information, please visit the USBSF website at http://bobsled.teamusa.org.
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