Canadian bobsledder Christine de Bruin came close to winning a second medal in a matter of days on Saturday morning. She and her partner Kristen Busjnowski took the 5and row in two-man bob.
Posted at 9:46 a.m.
The Canadian duo, 4and in the world this season, was in 4and place with a delay of 1.89 s. on the leaders after three sets. He therefore had to surpass himself on his last run to hope to get on the podium. However, the athletes had a few small clashes which affected their time. They took 2and temporary rank, while the three best duos had not yet made their final descent. The chances of getting your hands on a medal were therefore rather slim.
As a matter of fact, it was the following three tandems that made it to the podium. Germans Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi triumphed with a cumulative time of 4:03.96. At 23, Nolte became the youngest medalist in sports history. The other German duo formed by Mariama Jamanka and Alexandra Burghardt (+0.77 s.) won silver.
These two podiums are the fourth and fifth of the German delegation in bobsleigh in Beijing.
Americans Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman won bronze.
Ultimately, de Bruin and Bujnowski concluded at 5and rank, at 2.41 s. champions.
Their counterparts, the Canadians Cynthia Appiah and Dawn Richardson Wilson (+3.56 s.), finished in 8and rank. Things could have turned tragic for them in the third run, when their bobsled completely capsized after an error at 13and turn. The pilot, Appiah, managed to keep her head up so that it did not touch the ground while the car continued its descent on the ice.
PHOTO THOMAS PETER, REUTERS
Cynthia Appiah and Dawn Richardson Wilson capsized on their third descent.
Crushed by the machine, the two athletes still crossed the finish line with a time barely slower than during their two previous passages. They were able to get out of the bob by themselves at the finish. The duo came back strong in the fourth set. He still had a small snag on the last turn, but managed to keep the bobsleigh on its blades this time around.
The third Canadian tandem to take part in this event, Melissa Lotholz and Sara Villani (+4.41 s.), took the 12and rank.