Justin Kripps’ four-man bobsleigh team slid across the finish line on their heads to place 10th last weekend.
Kripps, of Summerland, along with James McNaughton, Nick Carriere and Sam Guigerre dealt with snowy conditions in Winterberg, Germany during their first run in World Cup No. 4.
Before finishing in that fashion, 30 minutes before that the drivers push bar would not open with the clock ticking. Had they not been able to go within a minute of being signaled, the team would have been disqualified.
The bar opened with 12 seconds remaining.
During their run they had the eighth fastest time overall. Canada #1 and Canada#2 managed 13th and 22nd place finish respectively.
Team Kripps also had their best two-man event of the season the previous day in different conditions. Kripps and new rookie teammate Sam Guigerre (a Hamilton Tiger Cats player) had a very impressive first heat placing eighth, again ahead of Canada#2. In the second run, however, Guigerre had a stumble at the start and practically dove into the sled but managed to still get himself into position and Kripps drove to an overall 12th place finish. Canada #1 took the bronze medal and Canada#2 improved to 10th.
The team is off to La Plagne France for World Cup No. 5 to be held this weekend.
