Contact: Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Manager
(518) 354-2250, abird@usbsf.com
Antoine and Daly in top ten at World Championships
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (Feb. 25, 2012)–Matt Antoine (Prairie du Chien, Wisc.) finished fifth in a competitive field of 31 athletes at the 2012 World Championships to cap his season. Antoine was in bronze medal position after yesterday’s first two heats and was disappointed that he wasn’t able to hang on to a podium finish after two inconsistent runs today.
“It’s not where I wanted to finish,” Antoine said. “I know I was capable of a lot better than this, so it’s a disappointment. There’s not a whole lot of positive to take out of today. I’ve had a problem with consistency this year and it showed on that final run. Some people might be happy to finish fifth, but I’m not.”
Antoine was edged 0.05 seconds out of medal position in today’s first run by Ben Sandford from New Zealand, who has years of experience on the Lake Placid track. Antoine took a risky line down the course in an attempt to leap back into medal standing, but his final run was only 11th best of the heat. His four-run combined time of 3:39.65 bumped him into fifth place for a tie with Latvian Tomass Dukurs.
Latvian Martins Dukurs earned gold by 2.08 seconds with a total time of 3:37.09. Dukurs is only the second men’s skeleton athlete in history to win two consecutive World Championship titles since Ryan Davenport claimed the title in 1996 and 1997. German Frank Rommel finished second with an aggregate time of 3:39.17, while Sandford secured bronze with a total time of 3:39.50.
John Daly (Smithtown, N.Y.) was in ninth position after yesterday’s opening heats and kick started the final with the third fastest run of the heat to move up two spots. Daly pumped his fist as he crossed the finish line and was clearly happy with his third run effort. The 2010 Olympian ran into some trouble in his final run, and he fell back into eighth position with a combined time of 3:40.52 to conclude his season.
“I had to leave it all out on the ice,” Daly said. “I tried not to drive as much but it bit me right off the top. I had a mistake at the top of the track that literally ruined my run and there was nothing I could do from there. I left it out there; I knew I had to throw down a smoker of a run. If it was seventh or twentieth, I was shooting for the podium.”
The 2012 World Championships wrap up tomorrow with the four-man bobsled final at 9:20 am. USA-1 currently holds a lead of 0.01 seconds and will seek to make history again on their home ice. For media inquiries, please contact Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Manager, at abird@usbsf.com, or at (518) 354-2250.
Results:
1. Martins Dukurs (LAT) 3:37.09 (53.77, 54.37, 54.34, 54.61); 2. Frank Rommel (GER) 3:39.17 (54.00, 54.83, 55.21, 55.13); 3. Ben Sandford (NZL) 3:39.50 (54.31, 55.20, 54.76, 55.23);…5. Matt Antoine (USA) 3:39.75 (54.28, 55.04, 55.00, 55.43);…8. John Daly (USA) 3:40.52 (54.66, 55.24, 54.89, 55.73);
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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