LA PLAGNE, France — Canada’s two-man bobsled team of Lyndon Rush and Jesse Lumsden earned their first gold medal of the World Cup season on Saturday, while teammate Sarah Reid won silver in women’s skeleton.
The duo posted the fastest times in both runs down the French Alps track for a combined time of two minutes 01.18 seconds. It was the third straight podium finish for Rush of Humboldt, Sask., and Lumsden of Burlington, Ont.
“We’ve been close all year, but it is so fun when you finally close the deal,” said Rush. “It is so hard to start on this track because it is really flat so it exposes the better athletes. Jesse is an unbelievable athlete and he did an incredible job carrying the load today.”
It was the fifth two-man and ninth overall World Cup medal for Rush, who won the four-man Olympic bronze medal in 2010.
Rush and Lumsden have combined to win five World Cup medals together, including two victories, in addition to sliding to the silver medal at last year’s World Championships.
Switzerland’s Beat Hefti and Alex Baumann won the silver at 2:01.45, while Steven Holcomb and Steven Langton, of the U.S., grabbed the bronze with a time of 2:01.48.
Calgary’s Chris Spring and Edmonton’s Adam Rosenke finished 15th (2:02.27), while Justin Kripps of Summerland and Sam Giguere of Sherbrooke, Que., placed 16th at 2:02.38.
In women’s skeleton, Calgary’s Reid rocketed down the challenging 1,507-metre La Plagne track in a time of 2:08.71 to finish in a deadlock for second spot with Germany’s Marion Thees.
It capped a career-best first half of the season that saw her pick up one gold and two silver medals.
“I had two really good pushes and two good runs today,” said Reid, who grabbed her third and final Olympic qualifier this year. She will need one more top-six finish next season to punch her ticket to Sochi.
“This is a hard track to relax because it is a really busy track with high pressure corners, but I was able to relax today.”
American Katie Uhlaender finished on top of the podium with a time of 2:08.22.
Reid kicked off her dream pre-Olympic season on the World Cup by winning her first-ever race in Lake Placid, New York. Two weeks later, Reid plummeted down the Olympic track in Whistler to the silver and her second career World Cup medal.
Reid is on a a new sled this year designed by British skeleton ace Kristan Bromley. “I think my new equipment has definitely played a difference this year. ”
Two-time World Cup champion, Mellisa Hollingsworth of Eckville, Alta., placed seventh at 2:09.53, while rookie Cassie Hawrysh of Brandon, Man., dropped out of the top-10, finishing 13th (2:10.06).
The first half of the World Cup season wraps up today in La Plagne with men’s four-man bobsled racing.
Women golden in snowboard cross
n TELLURIDE, Colorado — Canadians Dominique Maltais and Maelle Ricker won the women’s World Cup snowboard cross team final Saturday.
Maltais, from Petite-Riviere-St-Francois, Que., and Ricker, the 2010 Olympic champion who hails from Squamish, were the dominant team throughout.
“Finally we won it,” said Maltais, who won both individual snowboard cross events this season.
Maltais added that the Canadians have raced well in the team event in the past but “were never able to win this one. Finally we did.”
Snow began falling in the middle of the women’s final that disrupted the snowboarders’ speed, but the Canadian duo maintained their pace “and had a good advantage at the end,” said Maltais.
The Swiss team of Simona Meiler and Emilie Aubry finished second with Italy third.
Canada’s other team of Jade Critchlow of Kelowna and Carle Brenneman of Comox finished seventh.
The Canadian men’s teams didn’t fare quite as well. Chris Robanske of Calgary and Kevin Hill of Vernon finished fourth with Rob Fagan of Cranbrook and Jake Holden of Caledon, Ont., settling for sixth.
Nate Holland and Seth Wescott took gold.
Guay bronze at downhill in Italy
n VAL GARDENA, Italy — Downhill world champion Erik Guay of Canada took the bronze medal in a World Cup downhill on Saturday shortened because of heavy snowfall and low visibility.
The Mont-Tremblant, Que., skier finished in one minute 29.06 seconds for his first World Cup medal of the season. He finished 14th in Friday’s super-G.
Guay, 31, raced through thick fog and extremely poor visibility to stand in first place until racers starting 35th and 39th made the most of improving conditions to move in ahead.
American skier Steven Nyman won gold while Rok Perko of Slovenia, another late starter, finished second, 0.19 seconds behind Nyman’s time of 1:28.82.
Manuel Osborne-Paradis, of Vancouver claimed a seventh-place finish.
Overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal was fifth.
