WHISTLER, B.C.—Canada’s Justin Kripps and Jesse Lumsden had a medal slip out of their hands in the two-man bobsleigh race at the BMW IBSF World Cup opener in on Friday night.
Sitting in third place after the opening blast down the 1,450-metre track, the Canadian duo dropped into a tie for fourth place after their second run with a combined time of 1:44.73.
“We executed the way we wanted to on the track today, but we were hoping for a better result. I felt we did what we needed to do to get the job done , but unfortunately it translated into fourth place,” said Kripps in a press release. “That’s racing and the way it goes sometimes. We are going to head back into the garage and try and find some speed on the sleds.”
It was the first World Cup race for the 29-year-old Kripps with Lumsden providing the manpower. Lumsden, of Burlington, Ont., returned to the program this fall after a two-year hiatus to begin his transition into the business world.
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“I am happy to back, but I am personally very disappointed with my performance,” said the 34-year-old Lumsden. “I need to be better behind the sled for Justin. I am a couple of years older so maybe I just needed to shake the rust off a bit. I know what I need to do and we will keep getting better. I’ll be ready tomorrow.”
