Contact: Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Manager
(518) 523-1842, ext 106, abird@usbsf.com
For Immediate Release
January 18, 2009
Hays Within Reach of Medals in Men’s Four-man Bobsled World Cup
ST. MORITZ, Switzerland–Todd Hays (Del Rio, Texas) finished fifth in today’s four-man bobsled World Cup competition in St. Moritz, Switzerland, just four-hundredths of a second from the medals.
“It’s pretty amazing to have a race this tight,” said Hays. “It feels great to know that we’re getting better and closer to the medals each week.”
Hays teamed with TJ Burns (Blue Bell, Pa.), Alex Sprague (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Bill Schuffenhauer (Ogden, Utah) to finish with a two-run total of two minutes, 10.85 seconds, within striking distance of gold.
“Todd was second off today, and if he had started ninth or tenth, he would have been on the podium,” said U.S. team head coach, Sepp Plozza. “Todd had two very good runs, and he couldn’t have done any better. He just had the misfortunate of an early start draw.”
The natural ice of St. Moritz speeds up as temperatures rise, making a later start beneficial. Hays and his crew powered off the start with push times of 5.45 and 5.42 seconds for runs of 1:05.70 and 1:05.15, respectively.
“It absolutely feels good to cap the European portion of the season with today’s result,” said Hays. “I’m looking forward to competing on a couple home tracks now, and hopefully I can get a good feel for the course in Vancouver before finishing with two big days in Lake Placid for World Championships.”
Russia’s Alexsandr Zubkov nabbed his fifth medal of the season after claiming gold today with a combined time of 2:10.48. Zubkov and his crew of Roman Oreshnikov, Dmitry Trunenkov and Dmitry Stepushkin pushed identical start times of 3.34 seconds for runs of 1:05.20 and 1:05.28.
Thomas Florschütz claimed the silver medal for Germany with a total time of 2:10.79 in one of the season’s most competitive races yet. Florschütz and his crew of Marc Kühne, Stefan Barucha and Alexander Metzger slid runs of 1:05.61 and 1:05.18 for a total time of 2:10.79.
Karl Angerer from Germany has been dominating on the European Cup circuit this season, and slid a bronze medal performance today with his team of Andreas Udvari, Thomas Poege and Gregor Bermbach. Angerer’s team crossed the finish with a combined time of 2:10.81 after sliding runs of 1:05.53 and 1:05.28.
Beat Hefti was third after the first heat with a run of 1:05.58, but fell out of medal contention on his home track with a second run time of 1:05.37, moving him into sixth. Hefti’s team continues to dominate at the start, bursting off the block with push times of 5.35 and 5.30 seconds.
The teams are packing crates to send sleds immediately overseas for an official training week in Vancouver, Canada before the next World Cup race from Feb. 5-7 on the 2010 Olympic track.
Watch Hays navigate one of the most beautiful stops on tour by visiting www.UniversalSports.com. Complete results can be found by visiting the web site for the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing at www.fibt.com. For additional information about the U.S. team, please contact Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Manager, at (518) 523-1842, ext. 106, or abird@usbsf.com.
Results:
1. Zubkov, Oreshinkov, Trunenkov and Stepushkin (RUS) 2:10.48 (1:05.20, 1:05.28); 2. Florschütz, Kühne, Barucha and Metzger (GER) 2:10.79 (1:05.61, 1:05.18); 3. Angerer, Udvari, Poege and Bermbach (GER) 2:10.81 (1:05.53, 1:05.28);…5 Hays, Burns, Sprague and Schuffenhauer (USA) 2:10.85 (1:05.70, 1:05.15);
About the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation
The United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. The USBSF would like to thank its sponsors, suppliers and contributors for their support: Allianz Life, Vilter Manufacturing, KBC Helmets, Luminox Watch Company, ULU Boots and Ferris Mfg. Corp. The USBSF would also like to thank the following sponsors and suppliers for their partner, the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project: Whelen Engineering, PPG, Columbia Sportswear, JEGS Automotive, Lucas Oil, Mac Tools, EXA, Lumber Liquidators, Lincoln Electronics and Racing Electronics. For more information, please visit the USBSF website athttp://bobsled.teamusa.org.
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