Holcomb seeks gold for U.S. bobsledders

Tim Hipps, FMWRC Public Affairs

WHISTLER, British Columbia — Former U.S. World Class Athlete Program bobsled driver Steven Holcomb finished sixth in the two-man Olympic Bobsled competition late Sunday and said he looks forward to the upcoming four-man event and ending the USA’s 62 years with no gold in the sport.

Holcomb was in fourth place after the first two of four heats Saturday in the Olympic two-man bobsled competition.

He teamed Saturday night with Curt Tomasevicz for a two-run cumulative time of 1 minute, 43.93 seconds, just .62 second off the pace set by reigning Olympic champions Andre Lange and Kevin Kusge in Germany-1, which took the gold.

The Germany-2 duo of Thomas Florschuetz and Richard Adjei won the silver medal in two-man bobsled event. The Russia-1 sled manned by Alexandr Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda took the bronze.

The Olympic four-man bobsled event begins today. Holcomb is the 2008-2009 World Cup champion pilot in the four-man event. WCAP bobsled driver John Napier teamed with Steve Langton of Melrose in USA 2 to finish 10th.

Napier comes from a family of bobsledders and began driving when he was 8 years old, while Langton hails from a track-and-field background and was recruited into the sport only two years ago.

Former WCAP and current Army National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program bobsled driver Mike Kohn of Chantilly, Va., and Nick Cunningham of Monterey, Calif., placed 12th in USA 3.

Sunday’s final heats, originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m., were delayed until 4 p.m. because warmer weather and sun caused softer ice at the starting line.

The first heat of the four-man bobsled event is scheduled for 4 p.m. PST, today.