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Upperton strikes bobsleigh gold
Canuck sliders start World Cup season in Germany, Austria

Canada’s female sliders led the way in World Cup bobsleigh racing in Winterberg, Germany, as Helen Upperton was the class of the women’s field at the season-opening race on Saturday (Nov. 29).

Upperton, piloting the Canada 1 sled with pusher Jenny Ciochetti, was glad to redeem herself with gold in Winterberg after having finished fifth on this track last season.

“It was definitely nice to get some redemption here in Winterberg,” Upperton said in a Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton press release. “The weather changes so fast here and it makes it difficult for selecting the proper runners for the conditions. But today fate was on our side and we put all our preparation together to get onto the podium.”

The top bobsleigh driver in Canada’s selection race in Whistler in November, Upperton kept up her winning tradition in season openers, as she kicked off last season by grabbing gold on home ice in Calgary. Upperton, Ciochetti and alternate top brakeman Heather Moyse slid to five World Cup podium results last year.

The Canada 2 sled of Kaillie Humphries and Shelley-Ann Brown finished sixth overall in Winterberg, and Lisa Szabon teamed with Surrey’s Amanda Moreley to finish eighth in the 21-sled competition.

Battling snowy conditions on the same day, the two-man men’s team of Pierre Lueders and David Bissett were the top Canadians with their fifth-place finish. Lyndon Rush drove brakeman Lascelles Brown to a 14th-place finish in the Canada 2 sled.

Sunday’s (Nov. 30) four-man race was less kind to the Canadians, as the Lueders-driven sled finished as the top Canuck team in 11th. The Canada 2 sled driven by Rush finished 22nd.

The Winterberg track, reputed to be slower and easier than the Whistler and Lake Placid courses where the Canadians spent their pre-season training, jolted the athletes back to reality.

“We are not going to take too much out of this, other than it was a good wake-up call for the guys,” head coach Tuffy Latour said.

The Canadian bobsleigh team is next scheduled to race in Altenberg, Germany, this weekend (Dec. 6 and 7).

Skeleton: Hollingsworth wins Winterberg bronze

Last year’s third-ranked skeleton racer on the World Cup circuit kept up the successful status quo at Friday’s (Nov. 28) opening race of the 2008-’09 season, as Canada’s Mellisa Hollingsworth won bronze in Winterberg.

Hollingsworth slid onto the podium with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 58.38 seconds, behind winner Anja Huber’s time of 1:57.72 and silver medalist Kerstin Syzmkowiak’s 1:57.74.

“I am really happy with this start to the season because I really had no high hopes heading into the first race,” Hollingsworth said in a Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton press release. The 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, who was the fastest woman in the Canadian team selection races held in Whistler in October, said she thinks the relative ease of the Winterberg track lends itself to tight finishes such as those posted Friday.

“You just never know who is going to do well here besides the Germans. I am happy with this start, but I know there is room for improvement,” she said.

Fort St. John’s Michelle Kelly, who finished last season ranked second overall on the World Cup circuit, ended up tied for eighth, while World Cup rookie Sarah Reid of Calgary finished 12th.

Jeff Pain was the top Canadian on the men’s side, finishing fifth in his return to the World Cup circuit. The 2006 Olympic silver medalist, who had to compete on the lower-lever Intercontinental Cup circuit last season, topped the Canadian men’s selection races before posting a combined time of 1:54.84 in Winterburg.

Teammates Jon Montgomery and Paul Boehm finished seventh and 16th, respectively. The Canadian skeleton sliders are scheduled to tackle another German track in Altenberg at the next World Cup stop on Sunday (Dec. 7).

Luge: Three top-15 finishes for Canucks

Calgarians Jeff Christie, Sam Edney and Meaghan Simister slid into good standing among the top 15 luge sliders in the world on Sunday (Nov. 30) at the season-opening World Cup luge race in Igls, Austria.

Christie and Edney finished 14th and 15th, respectively, in the men’s race, while Simister finished 15th as the lone Canadian in the women’s race. Germans ruled the Austrian track, winning five of the six singles luge medals up for the taking.

“This was a tremendous improvement from where we ended last season and things look promising,” Canadian head coach Wolfgang Staudinger said. “Our performance today was very solid, but we were beaten by warm weather and tough starting positions today. I know we are close to breaking that top-six group.”

The Canadian luge team’s next stop is the second World Cup race of the season in Sigulda, Latvia, this weekend (Dec. 6 and 7).

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