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Hollingsworth golden despite track’s ‘washing machine’ feel
First Lake Placid win continues hot start for skeleton star

On a track that makes her feel like she spent a minute in a washing machine, Mellisa Hollingsworth still managed to speed to the fourth World Cup win of her career last Friday (Nov. 20), when the skeleton racing circuit hit Lake Placid, N.Y.

Hollingsworth’s two-run time of one minute, 54.85 seconds, was good enough for her first-ever World Cup win on the abrupt 20-corner track in Lake Placid, allowing her to beat out runner-up Shelley Rudman of Great Britain, the 2006 Olympic silver medallist, with last season’s world champion Marion Trott of Germany in third.

How did the skeleton star do it, despite the challenges of the track and the drizzly weather slowing the course? It seems the Eckville, Alta., native simply decided it was her day.

“Training definitely didn’t indicate the outcome this week, but I woke up today and decided I wanted to win today,” Hollingsworth said in a statement. “I just felt why not me today, and I went out there and just put it down.”

Hollingsworth, who opened the World Cup season one week earlier by winning a bronze medal in Park City, Utah, said her goal is to return to the Whistler Sliding Centre for the 2010 Olympics and wear the No. 1 bib, just as she did in 2006. In her dominating 2005-’06 season, Hollingsworth became the first athlete ever to reach the podium in all eight World Cup skeleton races, including her bronze-medal finish at the Games.

She’s off to a great start, sitting atop the current World Cup overall standings with 425 points to Rudman’s 402, and having found her way onto the top of the podium in Lake Placid.

“(The track) is so abrupt and the transitions are so quick. When you cross the finish line, you feel like you spent a minute in a washing machine, and have a little shaken-baby syndrome,” Hollingsworth said.

Abbotsford’s Amy Gough sits third in the overall women’s skeleton standings, after sliding into the top eight in Lake Placid with her sixth-place finish. Michelle Kelly of Fort St. John, B.C., finished tied for seventh, and sits fifth in the standings.

If the Canadians can earn a spot as one of the top two nations in the world, they can send three sleds to the Games in Whistler.

On the men’s side, Lake Placid offered a rougher ride for the Canadians, and Jon Montgomery of Russell, Man., was the top finisher with his 12th-place result. Olympic silver medallist Jeff Pain finished 13th and Toronto’s Mike Douglas ended up 17th, while Germany offered up a one-two punch with Frank Rommel’s victory and Sandro Stielicke’s silver-medal performance.

Also in Lake Placid, Canada 2 pilot Kaillie Humphries blasted onto the podium with brakeman Heather Moyse in the women’s bobsleigh even on Saturday (Nov. 21), capturing a bronze medal with a two-run time of 1:57.23. This powerful pair won a silver medal at the Whistler World Cup, and Humphries commended Moyse’s speed and strength.

“Today was a great day and everything came together very well. Obviously there were several mistakes that I made out there, so there is always room for improvement, but our starts were great today, so I’m happy,” Humphries said.

After helping lay down the speedy starts and consistent runs, Moyse headed home to Summerside, P.E.I., to carry the Olympic torch on Sunday (Nov. 22).

Two German teams rocketed to the top in the women’s race, with Cathleen Martini driving the Germany 2 sled to victory and Sandra Kiriasis piloting the Germany 1 sled to a silver medal. Canada’s Helen Upperton teamed with Shelley-Ann Brown to finish sixth, while Amanda Stepenko drove into 12th with Surrey’s Amanda Moreley.

On the men’s side, legendary veteran Pierre Lueders nearly powered onto the podium in the men’s two-man event, finishing fourth with David Bissett, while the team of Lyndon Rush and Lascelles Brown ended up seventh. In the four-man event, Rush’s sled finished seventh and Lueders ninth.

Luge

Calgary’s Sam Edney notched a career-best World Cup result on his home track at Canada Olympic Park on Saturday (Nov. 21), finishing a breath away from the podium with a fifth-place finish at the season-opening event.

Edney’s two-run time of 1:30.601 secured his landmark result after an off-season full of hard work, and a first run in Calgary that sat him fourth behind three of the world’s best sliders. Italian veteran Armin Zöggler earned the 46th World Cup win of his career in Calgary, while Germany’s David Möller finished second and Russia’s Albert Demtschenko third.

Calgary’s Jeff Christie sped into the top 10 alongside friend Edney with a ninth-place finish, while the Canadian women posted a matching two top-10 results, with Alex Gough finishing sixth and Regan Lauscher 10th. Kimberley’s Brendan Hauptman slid into 22nd.

On Friday, Canada’s brotherly tandem of Mike and Chris Moffat professed themselves unhappy with their start to the season, though they pulled off a 10th-place finish, while rookie teammates Justin Snith and Tristan Walker finished 12th in their first senior World Cup race.

Cross-country

Canmore’s Ivan Babikov opened the World Cup season for cross-country racers with a top-30 finish Saturday in the men’s 15-kilometre skate-ski race in Beitostoelen, Norway. Babikov finished 28th in the slippery conditions, while teammate Devon Kershaw was the next Canadian, placing 37th.

Alex Harvey and Graham Nishikawa finished 43rd and 66th, respectively, while Brian McKeever, still seeking to qualify for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the same year, finished 80th.

Canmore’s Chandra Crawford, returning to the World Cup circuit for her first race in more than a year, hit the start line for the women’s 10-kilometre skate-ski race, finishing 86th.

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