Team Kripps celebrates silver for their first medal of the season
Team Kripps slid to silver during the first four-man bobsleigh event of the season on Sunday at Winterberg, Germany.
For his sixth four-man podium since 2018, the team of Justin Kripps, Ryan Sommer, Ben Coakwell, and Cam Stones received a two-run time of 1:48.70 seconds for second place. Canada saw a faster first run than their second with a difference of .14 seconds.
Known to be a more difficult track with 15 corners, this is the crew’s first-ever World Cup podium in Winterberg. The silver medal also marks Kripps’ ninth career four-man win as Pilot.
The home team was the team to beat, although Team Germany earned two of the fastest run-times to celebrate gold (1:48.13). Austria won bronze with a time of 1:48.89 seconds.
This is the first World Cup of the season for the Canadian team, which stayed home to train during the fall due to concerns related to COVID-19 and quarantine protocols.
After a one-year break from competition, Christopher Spring won three medals this weekend on the Europe Cup as he aims to earn his way back into World Cup events. He took four-man gold along with silver and bronze in a pair of two-man events in Altenberg, Germany. Alysia Rissling also earned a Europe Cup podium as she makes her own comeback following a one-year hiatus.
Next weekend the IBSF World Cup will be located in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
