Jon Montgomery was golden once again Friday (Nov. 26) at the Whistler Sliding Centre, opening the FIBT World Cup men's skeleton season with a win.
Just nine months since his memorable Olympic triumph at the same track, Montgomery held the lead after Friday's first heat and came through with the second-best final run to hang on for top spot.
"I felt good,” Montgomery said after the victory. “I didn't feel overly confident, that's for sure. I knew that I was going to have to be near-perfect to be on the podium.
“You've got an incredibly deep field… everyone's getting more familiar with this track and it's going to be a wicked season of tight, tight battles.”
It seems, though, that nobody knows the Whistler track as well as Montgomery. The Russell, Man. native now has three wins in three starts at the venue between the World Cup and Olympics. The other two World Cup wins on his resume have come at Cesana in Italy.
“This track, like Cesana, is suited to my style,” he said. “I think some places are going to lend themselves to having more success than others.”
Montgomery had to fend off an outstanding second run from Great Britain's Kristan Bromley, who was eighth after the first run but remained in the leader's box until Montgomery crossed the finish line, settling for silver. Russian slider Alexander Tretiakov earned the bronze.
Bromley's final run (53.57 seconds) was by far the best of the day but still left him 0.28 seconds behind Montgomery.
In women's bobsleigh Friday evening, Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries reached the podium in third spot with Heather Hughes on the brakes.
Humphries held the lead after the opening run but had some difficulty on her second trip down the track.
“It wasn't as consistent as I'd like to be. Our first run was good, but I made one mistake and it cost me. That is how racing should be,” said Humphries.
Germany's Sandra Kiriasis claimed top spot while American pilot Shauna Rohbock picked up the silver medal.
Canada's Helen Upperton, who took silver at the WSC during the Olympics, did not start due to injury.
The World Cup event wraps up Saturday afternoon with the men's four-man bobsleigh. Lyndon Rush, who already won silver in the two-man event Thursday, will be aiming for another podium finish in Canada 1.
