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Canada’s Humphries wins silver at bobseld World Cup, remains overall leader

Feb 4, 2017 | 10:00 AM

IGLS, Austria — Canadian bobsled star Kaillie Humphries won silver on Saturday at a women’s bobsled World Cup event.

Calgary’s Humphries and pusher Melissa Lotholz of Barrhead, Alta., posted the second fastest start and run times in both heats to lock up second place with a two-run time of one minute 46.39 seconds, 0.25 seconds behind Americans Elana Meyers Taylor and Lolo Jones, who won their fourth straight women’s race.

Jamie Greubel Poser and Aja Evans made it an American 1-3 finish, trailing the winners by 0.39.

“We had a few mistakes on our first push. Our sled came out of (start) groove about five metres in, and I had a tap in corner nine, so we really tried to correct those things in the second run,” said Humphries. “Overall it was a decent day. The pushes are really coming together for Melissa and I, and the velocity is great.”

Humphries remained in the overall World Cup lead with 1,446 points, 27 clear of Greubel Poser and 126 ahead of Meyers Taylor.

The silver was only the fourth career podium finish for Humphries on the flat 10-corner Austrian track that brings the field together. She also has one World Cup gold, a bronze, along with one silver with Lotholz at last year’s World Championships in Austria.

It was the fifth medal of the season for Humphries and her third podium this year with the 24-year-old Lotholz on the sled. Humphries also teamed up with Toronto’s Cynthia Appiah for a victory at the season opener in Whistler and a bronze in Lake Placid this year.

Coming off a fourth-place finish with Appiah last week in Konigssee — the site of the 2017 World Championships in two weeks — Humphries made the decision on Saturday to go back to her sled from last year.

“I just felt the sled wasn’t running properly in Konigssee for that track so I wanted to test it this week so that when we go back to World Championships it will hopefully create a bigger advantage,” said Humphries.

“Melissa has worked hard, and looking at the results with the coaches, when she is in the sled our velocity and speed is far greater. The rivalry between her and Cynthia has been awesome to see. Bringing Cynthia into the mix has pushed both of them. They are in a healthy competition and the results are showing.”

Francesco Friedrich won both heats in a two-man bobsled World Cup race to claim his fourth victory of the season.

Edmonton’s Alysia Rissling and Quebec City’s Genevieve Thibault slid to ninth place with a combined time of 1:47.36. Christine de Bruin, also of Edmonton, and Catherine Medeiros, of Mascouche, Que., were 11th (1:47.46).

Three-time world champion Friedrich and his pusher Thorsten Margis of Germany set a track record in the opening run before beating Oskars Melbardis and Janis Strenga of Latvia by 0.73 seconds.

Austria’s Benjamin Maier and Markus Sammer trailed by 0.80 in third. American driver Justin Olsen, with pusher Evan Weinstock, was fourth for his personal best World Cup result.

Canada’s Justin Kripps and Jesse Lumsden finished fifth in 1:43.77.

Friedrich extended his lead in the overall standings to 101 points over the United States’ Steven Holcomb, who finished Saturday’s race in 10th.

The meet in Austria will be concluded by the four-man race on Sunday, and is the last World Cup event before the Feb. 17-26 world championships in Koenigssee, Germany.

— With files from The Associated Press

The Canadian Press