Canadian pilots Humphries, Spring sweep World Cup bobsled golds in Whistler
WHISTLER, B.C. — Kaillie Humphries added to her World Cup women’s points standings lead Friday night, getting her second win of the season and giving Canada a two-race sweep of bobsled golds on the day.
Humphries and Melissa Lotholz prevailed over Jamie Greubel Poser and Aja Evans of the U.S. by nearly a half-second. The U.S. team of Elana Meyers Taylor and Kehri Jones took the bronze.
“I love this track. It is a place I learned to drive on and I love everything about it. You have to be focused. She will eat you alive if you aren’t. She has gotten us all at one point, but I love competing at home in Canada, and I love Whistler,” Humphries told Bobsleigh Canada’s website.
It was the 14th time that Humphries, Greubel Poser and Meyers Taylor — the three Olympic favourites this season — had the top three spots in an international race. No other driver in the race was within a second of the winning time.
Humphries’ win came not long after Chris Spring and Neville Wright took gold in the two-man race. Spring and Wright barely held off countrymen Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz, winning by just two-hundredths of a second.
“I just feel so much at home here,” Spring, the two-time Olympian who spends much of his summer in Whistler, told Bobsleigh Canada’s website. “The people are great here. At the top of the track warming up, I’m looking at the mountains and feel at home and amongst nature. It makes me feel so thankful to be here and living this life and that is showing in the results.”
Latvia got the two-man bronze, after Oskars Melbardis and Daumants Dreiskens posted the second-best times in both heats.
Kripps is the World Cup overall two-man points leader after three races, just ahead of Spring.
Nick Cunningham and Ryan Bailey were the top U.S. two-man sled, grabbing 11th. Cunningham slipped to fourth in the overall World Cup standings.