TEAM USA RETURNS TO ST. MORITZ FOR MORE RACING

World Cup

ST. MORTIZ, SWITZERLAND (January 26, 2024)- USA Bobsled’s World Cup Team returned to St. Moritz for a second weekend of racing. 

In Women’s Monobob, two races were held to make up for the cancelled Monobob event earlier in the season the first time the World Cup tour stopped in St. Mortiz.

In Race 1, Elana Meyers Taylor’s time of 2:21.52 earned her her first-ever World Cup Monobob gold medal and her 20th World Cup medal. In Race 2, she won again with a run time of 2:22.15.

“It was really special to win in such a magical place! I knew I could still win races after having Noah so I’m excited to finally be on top again- but not without a lot of effort from a lot of people including coaches, teammates, my amazing nanny Maliyah, and my husband Nic. Traveling on tour with kids isn’t easy but the team makes it as easy as it could be,” shared Meyers Taylor about her exciting wins.

Kaysha Love won her second and third consecutive World Cup medals in World Cup Monobob, placing third in Race 1 with a time of 2:22.07, and placing second in Race 2 with a time of 2:22.29.  

“It was not only a good day but a fun day for Team USA [...] I couldn’t be more proud of how the team started off our weekend,” Love shared after her first medal of the weekend.

Kaillie Armbruster Humphries placed seventh in both races, with respective times of 2:22.44 and 2:22.79. Sylvia Hoffman placed 16th in Race 1 with a time of 2:23.42, and 14th in Race 2 with a time of 2:23.61.

In 4-Man Bobsled, Frankie Del Duca, Carsten Vissering, Charlier Volker and Dylan Gilbert placed 11th with a time of 2:13.10.

Unfortunately, due to warm temperatures, the ice on the hand-formed track was deemed to be too soft, leading to the cancellation of the second 4-Man Bobsled race of the weekend as well as the 2-Woman Bobsled race.

“After a slower start to the season, it’s amazing to see the athletes have successful results. We had some injuries and sickness the first couple of races, but the athletes continue to train hard and put their best in every single day. We’re hoping to keep this momentum as we build towards World Championships in Lake Placid,” shared USA Bobsled Head Coach Chris Fogt.

North American Cup 

The North American Cup (NAC) division began a series of races this week on home is in Lake Placid, NY, beginning with two races of 2-Man Bobsled and Monobob.

In 2-Man Bobsled Race 1, Kris Horn and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor won gold with a time of 1:52.56. Geoff Gadbois and Bryce Cheek placed second with a time of 1:53.03. Grady Mercer and Bryan Sosoo placed ninth with a time of 1:54.95, and Shane Fisher alongside Otto Zaccardo placed 12th with a time of 1:56.18. In Race 2, Gadbois and Martin Christofferson placed first with a time of 1:53.40, Horn and Powell placed second with a time of 1:53.57, Mercer and Nate Breaud placed seventh with a time of 1:55.04, and Fisher alongside Trevor Chase placed ninth with a time of 1:55.70.

In Women’s Monobob, Riley Tejcek placed fourth in both races, with a time of 2:02.90 in Race 1 and 2:03.84 in Race 2.

In Race 1 of Men’s Skeleton, Bradley Nicol placed 10th with a time of 1:50.39, Andy Whittier placed 19th with a time of 1:51.85, Nick Brooks placed 26th with a one-run time of 56.47, Tyler Lutz placed 29th with a time of 56.92, Dylan Burris placed 32nd with a time of 57.06 and Lukas Kissell placed 33rd with a time of 57.31. This race also counted for the Pan American Championships in Men’s Skeleton, in which Nicol placed first, Whittier placed third, Brooks placed seventh, Lutz placed 8th, Burris placed ninth and Kissell placed tenth.

In Race 2 for the men, Nicol placed 11th with a time of 1:51.31, Brooks placed 23rd with a time of 1:53.58, Whitter placed 25th with a time of 1:54.18, Burris placed 30 with a one-run time of 57.59, Kissell placed 35th with a time of 57.93, and Lutz placed 36th with a time of 58.09.

In Race 1 of Women’s Skeleton, Kendall Wesenberg placed eighth with a time of 1:52.48, Hannah Gaskins placed 19th with a time of 1:56.01, Logan Wudi placed 20th with a time of 1:56.13, Liesel Baker placed 21st with a time of 1:56.28, and Sha’Londa Terry placed 23rd with a time of 1:56.45. In the Pan American Championships, which were based on these run times, Wesenberg placed fourth, Gaskins placed seventh, Wudi placed eighth, Baker placed ninth and Terry placed tenth. 

In Race 2 for the women, Wesenberg placed fifth with a time of 1:52.92, Wudi placed 14th with a time of 1:55.89, Gaskins placed 15th with a time of 1:56.04, Terry placed 17th with a time of 1:56.42, and Baker placed 18th with a time of 1:56.54.

In Race 1 of 2-Woman Bobsled, Riley Tejcek and Lauryn Hall placed third with a time of 1:57.85.

In Race 1 of 4-Man Bobsled, Horn, Josh Williamson, Abdul-Saboor and Adrian Adams placed first with a time of 1:52.40. Gadbois, Collin Storms, Sosoo and Christofferson placed third with a time of 1:52.97. Fisher, Zaccardo, Chase and Joe Fraseur placed sixth with a time of 1:54.01, and Mercer, Breaud, Darius Joseph and Elliot Markuson placed seventh with a time of 1:55.82.

Race 2 of 2-Woman Bobsled and 4-Man Bobsled will be held in Lake Placid tomorrow, January 27th.

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About USA Bobsled/Skeleton

USA Bobsled/Skeleton is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton racing in the United States. Based in Lake Placid, NY, USA Bobsled/Skeleton oversees the development and training of American athletes at all levels of competition.