THE OLYMPICS : WINTER GAMES AT ALBERTVILLE : U.S. Starts Fast, but Finishes Ninth : Bobsled: Americans tie for best push time on first run, but driver bumps wall. Two runs remain.

With Herschel Walker reduced to the role of full-time spectator and part-time cheerleader, the top U.S. four-man bobsled stood ninth after the first two runs Friday.

There was no room for Walker on the USA I sled, but it seemed pretty clear that there is plenty of room for improvement going into the medal runs today.

Walker, who spent the morning loading and unloading sleds instead of riding in one, attempted to make himself inconspicuous and did a good job of it.

“Let them have their day,” he said on his way out of the track. “This is their time. I want them to go to the finish line without any controversy. I’ve got a new role now. I’ve got to be their support.”

Walker’s sentiments can only be good news for USA I, which not only needs support, but faster times if it is somehow going to be able to leapfrog six other sleds and slide into a medal.

That’s not impossible, U.S. Coach John Philbin said. “We’re going to be in the hunt for the big one. We’re within striking distance.”

They might have been even closer if not for a bump into the wall near the end of the first run. Driver Randy Will couldn’t keep USA I from bouncing off the wall coming out of Turn 18, where the sled lifted off one runner before righting itself.

Philbin said that Will came out of the turn late. Wills’ assessment was more dramatic: “We basically crashed . . . it was nasty.”

Meanwhile, Germany’s top sled was attractively fast. Driven by Wolfgang Hoppe, Germany I led Austria I and Canada I after two trips down the hill, but Germany’s lead is only .07 seconds over Austria and .19 over Canada.

Back in ninth place, USA I is .36 seconds behind Germany I.

The most relieved man standing in the snow Friday was probably Chris Coleman, Will’s buddy, who had replaced Walker as brakeman two days before. Coleman helped USA I tie Germany I and Switzerland I for the best push time on the first run--5.92 seconds. On the second run, USA I recorded the third-best push time, 5.95.

Coleman called the two-day-old shake-up “an unsettling thing” and said Will’s decision to dump Walker must have been difficult.

“Herschel is a lot stronger than I am, but the question is whether he can leg it down better,” Coleman said. “I think I proved what I can do today.”

The rest seems to be up to Will, who made the decision to drop Walker and get Coleman on board, a move that apparently surprised Philbin, team leader Jim Hickey and the U.S. bobsled federation’s acting president, James Wright.

Hickey said he never tried to talk Will out of the change. Philbin said that since everyone went along with Will’s choice of pushers “now we’re leaving it up to the driver to do the rest.”

Wright, an attorney from Bronxville, N.Y., is new on the bobsled job, which has been something of a hot seat recently.

Wright replaced the former president, who was ousted when he sided against the federation in an arbitration procedure that eventually forced a new set of push-offs to determine the Olympic team.

The president before that was fired amid allegations of misuse of federation funds.

Said Wright: “There’s always a little controversy in bobsledding.”

And it didn’t take him long to experience it firsthand with Will’s dismissal of Walker.

“My reaction? Surprise, shock, I guess,” Wright said. “I mean, it’s two days before the four-man competition and I certainly didn’t expect that to happen. Sure, I was upset at first.”

But no longer?

“Let’s put it this way,” he said. “If we do well, then it was correct. But if we do poorly, it was obviously a terrible thing to do.”