Winter sports: Canadian Spring wins four-man bronze
ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND— Canada’s Chris Spring won bronze in a fourman World Cup bobsled event Sunday while World Cup leader Johannes Lochner of Germany took gold to edge closer to the overall season title.
Spring, from Calgary, drove his sled to a two-run time of two minutes 08.95 seconds. He was joined by Edmonton’s Bryan Barnett, Calgary’s Lascelles Brown and Edmonton’s Neville Wright.
It was Spring’s first career medal at the historic venue in the sport’s birthplace.
“I have always had a good feeling on the track here, and I feel like I’ve been unlucky not to podium before so I’m happy to have medalled today on such a historic track,” Spring said. “It’s special here every year. The mountains have this feeling for me of being just like Whistler, so I feel a bit at home here.”
Lochner and his crew of Sebastian Mrowka, Joshua Bluhm and Christian Rasp finished first in 2:08.42. Germany’s Francesco Friedrich was 0.14 seconds back in second place.
Going into the final race next weekend at their home track of Koenigsee, Lochner leads Friedrich in the season standings.
Friedrich and his push team of Candy Bauer, Martin Grothkopp and Thorsten Margis set an Olympia track record of 1:04.15 for their second run.
It was the second four-man bronze for Spring this season and the fourth of his career. He won gold and silver earlier this season in two-man competition.
“Confidence is a massive factor in our sport, especially at the top end so I’m happy to go into the last World Cup with this momentum.” Spring said.
CRAWFORD FOURTH: Johannes Thingnes Boe ended Martin Fourcade’s biathlon World Cup-winning streak and Kaisa Makarainen claimed her first win of the season in mass start races in Ruhpolding, Germany.
Makarainen edged home favourite Laura Dahlmeier by 0.8 seconds to win the women’s 12-5-kilometre race in 34:05.6, with Czech Veronika Vitkova 4.6 behind in third. Canada’s Rosanna Crawford, who claimed her first podium place on Thursday, was leading going into the final shoot but was unable to hold off her rivals’ late surge.
Crawford, from Canmore, Alta., finished 5.2 seconds behind Makarainen in fourth. She was the only competitor to shoot cleanly as the top three each missed two targets.
Fourcade, who won the previous four men’s events, was leading going into the third shoot but missed two targets while Boe quickly hit all five. The Norwegian seized the lead as Fourcade completed two penalty loops.
ITALIANS SWEEP DOWNHILL: Sofia Goggia used what she called her best ever downhill run to lead an Italian sweep of the podium at a women’s World Cup race in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria.
Racing from a lowered start due to fog in the upper part of the hill, Goggia sped down the bumpy KarntenFranz Klammer course in gutsy style, beating the field by more than a second.
Goggia won both test events last year on the hill for the Pyeongchang Olympics.
“The snow I found here was exactly the same as in South Korea,” said Goggia, who finished in one minute, 4.00 seconds to beat Federica Brignone by 1.10 and Nadia Fanchini by 1.35.
Ottawa native Valerie Grenier was the top Canadian in 14th.
HIRSCHER WINS AGAIN: Marcel Hirscher is unbeatable in slalom right now, and his World Cup win Sunday finally gave him victory at Wengen, Switzerland.
The Austrian star extended his first-run lead to finish 0.93 ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway. Andre Myhrer of Sweden was third, 1.72 back.
“I have been on the limits, especially on the steep part, so everybody is beatable,” said Hirscher, who won his fifth straight slalom race.
Toronto’s Phil Brown was 22nd.