A fast track upends drivers’ hopes in two-man bobsled

Reporting from Whistler, Canada — 

Records continued to tumble Saturday night at the Whistler track, billed as the world’s fastest. So did the sleds.

The first two entries in the men’s two-man bobsled lowered the track record. But four crashes marred the opening night of competition, and USA-1 nearly joined the scrap heap.

When the dust settled, Germany’s Andre Lange moved a step closer to becoming the most-decorated bobsled driver with a two-run total of 1 minute 43.31 seconds. He led countryman Thomas Florschuetz by .11 seconds. Russia’s Alexsandr Zubkov was third (1:43.81).

Steve Holcomb almost drove USA-1 out of the competition when he misjudged the entrance to Curve 11 and nearly crashed in Curve 13, nicknamed “50/50” by Holcomb for the chances of getting through it upright. He climbed two places in his second run and was .62 seconds off the lead.

“For a split second, the alarms were going off in my head,” said Holcomb, the reigning world champion in four-man bobsled. “We’re still in striking distance. We’re still right there.”

Americans John Napier (1:44.73) and Mike Kohn (1:45.18) were 11th and 12th, respectively.

“I have not cracked the code. I don’t believe anybody’s cracked the code. But if they do, please point them in my direction,” said Napier, who has been a track worker in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Said Kohn: “They built it too fast . . . people need more track time. I’ve only had six runs, so it means I’ve only had six minutes.”

The field lost some of its luster last week when two of three Swiss sleds, including the one driven by No. 1-ranked Beat Hefti, withdrew after training crashes. Latvian driver Janis Minins, who was expected to contend for a medal, had an appendectomy but will try to return for the four-man competition.

After 11 two-man sleds crashed in training, track crews modified the entrance to Curve 11, called “Shiver,” to give drivers a better chance of negotiating 12 and 13. But for some drivers, the work had the opposite effect.

Near the end of its first run, Liechtenstein’s team got too high in Curve 13 and flipped, the sled runners pointed skyward.

Two sleds later, the brakeman was ejected from Great Britain’s entry as it tipped onto its side, then slammed into the wall, with pilot John Jackson barely able to duck his head in time.

Brakeman Dan Money leaped two fences in order to comfort his wife in the stands, wrapping her in a hug while Jackson sought treatment for two huge brush burns on his back.

Jeremy Rolleston and Duncan Pugh, the crew of Australia-2, never got into their sled cleanly, and they bashed into a wall at the top of the track, then flipped and continued the milelong ride either sideways or upside down.

The same fate struck, Lyndon Rush, Canada’s best medal hope, who came flying out of Curve 13 during his second run and finished the course making ice shavings with the side of his sled.

The final two runs are to begin at 4 p.m. Sunday.

cthomson@tribune.com