Canadian Lyndon Rush will not make it to the podium in men’s two-man bobsleigh after crashing in the second heat on Saturday night at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Vancouver.
Rush and pusher Lascelles Brown were in the third place after the first round with a time of 51.67 seconds. However, the 29-year-old pilot lost control of his sled during the second run and crashed on corner 13 of the course, finishing at 54.70.
The native of Humboldt, Sask., is sitting in the 21st position, 3.06 seconds behind the first place and out of medal contention.
“I made a mistake on corner 11 and it snowballed on me until the exit of 50/50,” Rush told CTV. “We went over. Actually, it was the first time I crashed. I thought I could bring her back, but we went over on my head.”
“In the big picture of things, it’ll be okay, I’ll be fired up to win in four man.”
Olympic veteran Pierre Lueders and CFL player Jesse Lumsden finished sixth, 0.75 seconds off the pace.
The two-time Olympic medalist, of Edmonton, Alta., was not content with his performance at the end of the second run.
“I’m not too happy with the run. I’d like to be sitting better,” he said. “The good thing is we put some time between us and the guys behind us.”
Thomas Florschuetz, of Germany, leads after the first two heats. The 2009 world championship silver medalist and brakeman Richard Adjei finished with a combined time of 1:43.31.
German world champion Andre Lange and pusher Kevin Kuske sit in the second place, 0.11 seconds behind Florschuetz.
Lange, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, set a new speed record, reaching 150.6 km/h.
Heat three and the medal event are set to take place on Sunday, February 21st.