Contact: Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Manager
(518) 354-2250, abird@usbsf.com
Tough start for U.S. men in Altenberg
ALTENBERG, Germany (Jan. 6, 2012)– The second half of the 2011-2012 World Cup tour kicked off this morning with the men’s skeleton race in Altenberg, Germany. The U.S. team was unable to gel with the challenging course after a tough week of training following the holiday break, and all three entrants finished below the top 20.
“Our guys struggled with curve four and Kreisel all week, and it was tough to make up time after scrubbing that kind of speed today,” said Tuffy Latour, U.S. skeleton head coach. “The only thing we can do is move on.”
Only the top 20 competitors from the first heat are granted a second run, and Matt Antoine (Prairie du Chien, Wisc.) was just 0.06 seconds from qualifying after sliding to the finish in 1:00.07 for 21st position. Kyle Tress (Ewing, N.J.) posted a time of 1:00.40 for 22nd, while John Daly (Smithtown, N.Y.) finished 24th after clocking 1:00.64.
Current World Cup leader Martins Dukurs claimed his 11th consecutive gold medal and pocketed the European Championship title today. Dukurs started the New Year in the same dominant fashion he concluded 2011 by winning the World Cup race by 1.07 seconds after posting a combined time of 1:54.15.
“I just try to do my best,” Dukurs said in the broadcast interview. “I can’t tell directly one thing that works. Thanks for my supporters, my coaches, and for track workers because the track was in real nice shape.”
Martins’ brother, Tomass Dukurs, claimed the World Cup and European Championships silver medal with a two-run total of 1:55.22. Reigning Junior World Champion Alexander Kroeckel from Germany earned his first World Cup award after clocking a total time of 1:55.82 for third.
The women’s bobsled race is up next at 1:30 pm local time. Watch the Altenberg events LIVE by visiting www.fibt.com. Universal Sports will also broadcast the events with commentary and interviews on one-week delay. Programs will air Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 6 pm EST.
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) 1:54.15 (57.18, 56.97); 2. Tomass Dukurs (LAT) 1:55.22 (57.95, 57.27); 3. Alexander Kroeckel (GER) 1:55.82 (58.07, 57.75);…21. Matt Antoine (USA) (1:00.07, DNS), 22. Kyle Tress (USA) (1:00.40, DNS);…24. John Daly (USA) (1:00.64, DNS);
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.
###