It’s a Wet and Wild Ride, but Shimer Remains on Course

The bobsled track known as the Spiral was turned into an E-ticket water slide by relentless rain on Friday, but it couldn’t be compared to an amusement ride.

Brian Shimer, the driver of USA I, said that trying to control his 1,800-pound sled in the first heat of four man competition was a nightmare, but he did more than tread water.

He emerged in fourth place, within striking distance of the first U.S. bobsled medal since 1952.

However, the second heat was canceled because of the conditions and the race will conclude with two heats today.

In other words, there will be only three heats instead of four, but Shimer is only five-hundredths of a second out of third--”He can make that up in one run,” Coach Steve Maiorca said--and 0.23 off the lead.

Nevertheless, some felt the cancellation, leaving Shimer with one fewer heat in which to reach medal position, fit his star-crossed Olympic pattern.

Irrepressible pusher Chip Minton, the part-time pro wrestler and prison guard, wondered if a German judge on the rules jury had voted for the cancellation to help protect the lead taken by Christoph Langen, driving Germany II.

“I think we’d have finished up second today if we’d had one more heat, but I guess the Germans know we’re coming,” Minton said. “The judge on the jury is German, and I guess, I don’t know, he didn’t want us to have a chance.

“It’s going to hurt, but we’ll come back strong tomorrow. We’re going to get [Langen] tomorrow. He’s not going to beat us both heats. I mean, I have these two days to back up two years of trash talk.”

Minton repeatedly said the U.S. was going to kick some European rear this time, and he wouldn’t back off Friday, adding that the victory by the U.S. women’s hockey team has added to the sledders’ determination.

“That was all heart,” he said. “They wanted that medal and went out and won it. That’s the same with us. After watching that, you can’t help but come out here with the same fire.”

Friday’s rain put a damper on almost everyone’s fire.

“I have to thank the gods above we’re still in this thing and within striking distance,” said Shimer, referring to the deteriorating ice that left most in the 32-sled field with no chance.

The top sleds based on World Cup standings are seeded in the first 15 of the first heat, so it is not surprising that the leaders emerged from that group, but times were significantly slower as the ice became rutted and dangerous puddles formed.

“I’ve never seen ice deteriorate that quickly,” said Jim Herberich, the driver of USA II. Herberich was the 15th starter and is in 15th place.

Langen took the lead with a time of 52.70 seconds, starting ninth.

Great Britain I, driven by paratrooper Sean Olsson, started first and emerged second at 52.77.

Switzerland II, driven by Christian Reich, was third at 52.88, having started third.

Shimer, the second to start Friday, was fourth at 52.93.

Defending Olympic champion Harald Czudaj, driving Germany I as successor to the legendary Wolfgang Hoppe, appeared out of contention, finishing seventh after Steffen Goermer, one of his pushers, had trouble getting in the sled at the start.

Countrymen Langen set two records--both previously held by Shimer--in driving a trouble-free line.

His 52.70 broke Shimer’s track record of 52.71, set in a World Cup race, and his start time of 4.78 eclipsed Shimer’s 4.88 after both Shimer and Olsson had lowered it to 4.83 earlier in the heat.

“Brian came off a good start and had first-place splits all the way down to [Turn] 12, then lost control,” Maiorca said. “It’s very difficult to drive a sled down a wet track because there’s no control whatsoever. Any slight correction Brian might make . . . well, basically he got the sled fishtailing and lost some time, but we’re in the hunt, no question.”

Shimer, however, was angry at himself for failing to take advantage of his good starting position. He slid against the wall coming out of 12, noting his vision was obscured by the rain and glare of flashbulbs, but “I’m not making excuses. It was a driver’s error. I have to look at the video tonight, but I had to be worse than anybody else in the top 10. I was very late into [Turn] 11 and that starts the uphill section and it’s one place where you don’t want to make a mistake. I couldn’t recover out of 12, and it cost me bottom time tremendously, but we’re still close enough to move up.”

In the Bo-Dyn sled, Shimer’s four-man team finished fourth during the 1997-98 World Cup season, but in his fourth--and, perhaps, last--Olympics, the 35-year-old former football player from Morehead State in Kentucky is still trying to translate his annual World Cup success to the larger spotlight of the Olympics. In 1994, for example, Shimer’s four-man team suffered the embarrassment of a pre-race disqualification when the sled’s runners were heated beyond specifications. In 1992, he was saddled with inexperienced Herschel Walker as his pusher and finished seventh in two-man.

This year, although cleared of a positive testosterone test, he delivered a tearful statement on the eve of the Olympics, saying his reputation had been irreparably damaged by the intentional leaking of the initial results.

Did the heat cancellation add to Shimer’s Olympic frustration? More will be known today.

One thing is certain: The U.S won’t finish behind the fabled Jamaicans, as USA II did in the Lillehammer four-man.

The Jamaicans have a new sponsor and two new German-made sleds. They were 14th in Lillehammer but are not a very cool running 21st entering the final two heats.

Of course, royalty wasn’t immune to Friday’s conditions either. Prince Albert and his Monaco I team was 28th.