Humphries and Lotholz claim second straight world silver
After an intense competition spanning over two days, Kaillie Humphries and Melissa Lotholz won their second straight women’s bobsleigh IBSF World Championships silver in Germany.
The competition began on Friday with the first two of four runs. After the first heat the Canadians found themselves in second behind Meyers Taylor’s American sled. With their eyes set on topping the rankings at the conclusion of day one, Humphries and Lotholz closed in on the leader box, ending the day 0.02 seconds behind first.
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With only 0.05 seconds separating first and third, all of the medal positions were up for grabs. After finishing second at the world championships last year, the Canadians were looking to build on that success and land the top spot in Koenigssee.
After the third round the Canadians were sandwiched between two American sleds. Elana Meyers Taylor still led the competition, and was able to extend their lead to 0.03 seconds. On the other side Greubel Poser fell off pace, dropping to 0.28 seconds outside of first.
Kaillie Humphries and Melissa Lotholz race at the 2017 World Championships in Koenigssee, Germany, on Feb. 17, 2017. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP)
With the race for first down to two sleds, the Canadians pushed their way to a 50.75s run, giving them a total combined run of three minutes 24.78s. However, Americans Meyers Taylor and Kehri Jones were able to match the Canadian’s time on their final run and won gold by 0.03s.
Americans Jamie Greubel Poser and Aja Evans took bronze, while Canada’s second sled with Alyssa Rissling and Cynthia Appiah finished sixth.
The bobsleigh action will continue on Sunday with the final day of two-man, where Canadians Justin Kripps and Jesse Lumsden sit in second, followed by Nick Poloniato and Neville Wright’s sled in fourth.
