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Contact: Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Director
(518) 354-2250, abird@usbsf.com

USA-1 slips into eighth in two-man bobsled World Cup

Koenigssee, Germany (Jan. 12, 2013)- Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah) and Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.) were in an unfamiliar position today.  USA-1 has posted top-five finishes in every two-man bobsled World Cup race this season, including three victories, but their podium streak ended after finishing eighth in Koenigssee this afternoon.    

Holcomb and Langton gave the Under Armour sled a powerful push off the block and were hundredths of seconds from medal position in fifth after a first run of 50.23 seconds.  Every team brought their best to the line in the contest for gold, and even the smallest of errors would mean the difference between first and 10th.  Holcomb didn’t have any major mistakes, but USA-1’s combined time of 1:41.01 dropped the team into eighth.

Canadians Lyndon Rush and Jesse Lumsden managed to hang on to their first run lead to take the win by a large margin of 0.38 seconds.  Oskars Melbardis and Daumants Dreiskens from Latvia were second, while Francesco Friedrich and Gino Gerhardi trailed the leaders by half a second to earn the lone medal for the host nation.

Cory Butner (Yucaipa, Calif.) and Johnny Quinn (McKinney, Texas) teamed together as USA-2 in the Autism Speaks sled.  The last time Butner raced in Koenigssee he was a first-year pilot at the 2011 World Championships, where he finished 25th.  He bettered his performance by 13 places two years later after finishing 12th today with a total time of 1:41.25.  Butner and Quinn were just 0.07 seconds shy from a top 10 finish.

National Guard Soldier-athletes Nick Cunningham (Monterey, Calif.) and Justin Olsen (San Antonio, Texas) set themselves up with great start times of 4.97 and 5.00 seconds. This is Cunningham’s first time navigating the European tracks, and the rookie made one critical error in the first heat that held the team back from a top 10 performance.  Cunningham threaded together a smooth second run for a combined time of 1:41.74 to finish 15th.

The Koenigssee World Cup will conclude tomorrow with the four-man bobsled competition at 12:45 pm local time.  Check your local listings to watch coverage of the events on Universal Sports, or by visiting www.universalsports.com for race highlights.

Please contact Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Director, at abird@usbsf.com or 518-354-2250 with media inquiries.

Results:

1. Lyndon Rush and Jessee Lumsden (CAN) 1:40.22 (49.98, 50.24); 2. Oskars Melbardis and Daumants Dreiskens (LAT) 1:40.60 (50.03, 50.57); 3. Francesco Friedrich and Gino Gerhardi (GER) 1:40.72 (50.21, 50.51);…8. Steven Holcomb and Steve Langton (USA) 1:41.01 (50.23, 50.78);…12. Cory Butner and Johnny Quinn (USA) 1:41.25 (50.45, 50.80);…15. Nick Cunningham and Justin Olsen (USA) 1:41.74 (50.67, 51.07); 

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: BMW of North America, Under Armour, United States National Guard, Kampgrounds of America, WIDIA, Vivat!, Global Forwarding, KBC Helmets, Azad Watches, Latta USA, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Autism Speaks, Park City Lodging, EDAS/Ripxx, UberSense, Tesa Tape and Ferris Mfg. Corp. For more information, please visit the USBSF website at http://bobsled.teamusa.org.

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