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Sixth for Rush and Wright in two-man bobsleigh at Winterberg

Lyndon Rush and Neville Wright posted the best there was for Canada’s men’s two-man teams at bobsleigh competition

Lyndon Rush and Neville Wright posted the best there was for Canada’s men’s two-man teams at bobsleigh competition in Winterberg, Germany last Friday.

Despite a slow start on the short German track, the pair placed sixth with a two-run time of 1:53.43.

“Winterberg is a starters track and while he was a bit slower off the start, Lyndon was driving exceptionally well today,” said Tom De La Hunty, head coach of the Canadian Bobsleigh team, in a media release. He added that they rested Lascelles Brown on Rush’s sled to save him for the two four-man races scheduled for later in the weekend.

“It was a tough day today for everyone,” De La Hunty said. “The weather was miserable and was a bit of a strange day, but the guys did well considering that. “

The Canadian duo was within striking distance of their first medal of the Olympic year after sitting in fourth place after the first bomb down the Winterberg track, but dropped a couple of spots after a few small mistakes in the final run.

“It has been a strange year for Lyndon so far, but I have no concerns or problems with him,” said De La Hunty. “He was going well today and I know he will excel on the more difficult tracks in Europe.”

Switzerland’s Beat Hefti and Alex Baumann finished first with a time of 1:52.68 which was just three-quarters of a second ahead of Rush and Wright.

Chris Spring and Jesse Lumsden placed ninth in the first competition after the holiday break, while Justin Kripps and Bryan Barnett finished 11th.

In the first of the two back-to-back four-man bobsleigh races, Lyndon Rush, Lascelles Brown, Dave Bissett and Neville Wright tied for eighth with Canada’s Team Kripps with a time of 1:50.57, just 0.6 seconds off the winner’s pace.

In their second four-man race of the weekend, Team Rush slid to ninth place with a time of 1:51.17.

The newly-formed team of Chris Spring, Jesse Lumsden, Cody Sorensen and Ben Coakwell led the Canadian squad clocking the fifth-fastest time at 1:50.83.

Justin Kripps and his team of James McNaughton, Tim Randall and Bryan Barnett placed 11th.

The World Cup tour continues this weekend at St. Moritz, Switzerland, moving to Igls Austria the following weekend.