Driving the Canada 2 sled has been great for Summerland’s Justin Kripps, but it’s also been a whirlwind.
Kripps, who is teamed up with Tim Randall, Derek Plug and James McNaughton, said it’s been an adjustment with the new sled and crew. In his first event, they placed 12th in the world cup four-man bobsleigh at Whistler Park posting a time of 1:44.38. He also placed 17th in the two-man event.
“I didn’t drive particularly well in my opinion, I was forcing it a little bit, luckily it was good enough to still get a good result,” said Kripps in an email. “It’s a challenge for me as a former brakeman to still push the sled fast but then settle down and relax so that I can drive smoothly.”
Kripps also said this situation is different from when he road with Pierre Leuders, who is now his coach.
“As a crewman, I would just get myself pumped up and crush the sled off the line as fast as possible, now I have to do the same but stay relaxed and focused as there’s an extra 1,500-metres of track for me to drive.”
Kripps, who was a brakeman at the 2010 Games with Lueders’ sled, told the Summerland Review that he only started driving last year so he is happy right now just to have the opportunity to compete at a world cup.
“I think this track in Whistler has been critical for my quick development as a pilot,” he said. “It is very technical and challenging. We are very lucky to have this at home because it really slows other tracks down when we leave here.”
Story written with files from the Summerland Review.
