November 10, 2017 - 3:31 PM
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Canada's Justin Kripps and Alex Kopacz opened the World Cup season with a silver medal Friday in the two-man bobsled event.
Competing for first time together, Kripps of Summerland, B.C., and Kopacz of London, Ont., posted the second fastest time in each of their two trips down the 1,455-metre icy chute on Mount Hoevenberg, finishing with a two-run time of one minute 51.84 seconds.
Americans Codie Bascue and Sam McGuffie won gold 1:51.73 while Justin Olsen and Evan Weinstock of the U.S. took third in 1:52.13.
"It was an awesome day today," said Kripps. "We executed two really good runs. The start was strong and the driving was consistent. I thought we may be able to sneak out the win, but Bascue was a little bit better today and got the win so hats off to him for his first victory."
It was the fifth World Cup medal for Kripps — fourth in the two-man event — to go along with the silver medal he and Jesse Lumsden of Burlington, Ont., won at last year's World Championships. He also had a second-place finish in Lake Placid last year.
The shift in brakemen propelled Canada's Chris Spring into a top-five finish. Reuniting with Lumsden of Burlington, Ont. for the first time since 2014, Calgary's Spring was in the podium hunt sitting in fourth after the first run, but dropped one spot to finish at 1:52.27.
Hamilton's Nick Poloniato teamed up with Edmonton's Neville Wright for a 12th place finish at 1:52.62.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2017