With lead in four-man bobsled, U.S. likely to end medal drought
02/23/2002
PARK CITY, Utah – The end of America's 46-year medal drought in men's
bobsled is oh-so-near. Seriously. This is not another tease.
Midway through the four-man competition, Texan driver Todd Hays and his
crew are in first place. No joking. Though certainly no lock for gold,
they are in excellent position for a medal.
Believe it.
Hays and crew sped to the best time of the first heat (46.65 seconds) as
well as the second heat (46.61) Friday evening at Olympic Park, but
those weren't the only indications that something special, something
historic, will happen Saturday.
It was a business-like manner in which Hays, Randy Jones, Billy
Schuffenhauer and Garrett Hines rose from the USA's No. 1 sled following
the second run. No fist-pumping. No patting one another on the back. No
playing to the cheering throng.
"I feel good," Hays said. "This is a four-heat race, and I've got two
more to go tomorrow. We're looking forward to that."
Then, in perhaps the most telling moment of all, Hays declined further
comment. That is highly uncharacteristic of the 32-year-old Del Rio
native, but these are far from normal circumstances.
USA No. 1 holds a commanding .38 second lead over fourth-place Christian
Reich of Switzerland No. 2. It would take a monumental rally and
lapse by Hays for America to not earn its first men's bobsled medal
since 1956.
But Hays obviously has larger objectives on his mind. His lead is only
.09 over the two sleds that are tied for second, Switzerland No. 1 and
Germany No. 2. The last time the U.S. men earned gold? 1948.
"We're going to end the drought, and I think Todd has proven that
today," said Brian Shimer, driver of the USA No. 2 sled that surprised
many by speeding to fifth place. "He just has to put in two good runs
tomorrow, and the guys aren't going to catch him."
Shimer, who is .39 out of first place and .29 out of a medal spot, noted
the separation of the top three sleds from the rest of the field. He
admitted it would take a miracle for he and his crew to earn a medal.
Right behind Hays is Switzerland's up-and-coming Martin Annen, who last
Sunday earned bronze in the two-man competition. And Germany No. 2
driver Andre Lange was the World Cup champion in 2000-2001 and second in
2001-2002.
"Even though we are excited and happy about our finish today, we know
it's not over by any means," said Hays brakeman Hines, who along with
Jones is attempting to become the first male African American to earn a
Winter Olympics gold medal.
"It's going to be a dogfight for us. That's how we're going to look at
it."
For Hays, Friday's first two runs were polar opposites of what happened
in last Saturday's first two two-man heats, when he put himself in an
early hole with mediocre runs.
Hays and brakeman Hines were in fifth place after each of the first two
runs. They were .36 seconds behind the leading sled entering the final
two runs. Though they rallied on Sunday, they finished fourth,
three-hundredths of a second out of a medal.
That was yet another chapter in the saga of U.S. bobsled. Four years ago
in Nagano, Shimer's four-man sled finished two-hundredths of a second
out of a medal spot.
And in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway, Shimer was one of the favorites in
four-man but was disqualified for overheating the runners on his sled.
But there were signs Friday that fortune may finally be turning in the
Americans' favor. One of the pre-race favorites, Switzerland No. 2, lost
valuable time and may have cost itself a medal when the push bar failed
to fold into the sled during its second run.
And Germany No. 1 driver Christoph Langen, who is trying to become the
first bobsled driver to earn three gold medals, is favoring a pulled
muscle in his right foot. He is sixth, .42 behind Hays.
Who knows? The way things are going, Shimer, 39, in his fifth and last
Olympics, may have some say in Saturday's medal chase.
"The guys have nothing to hold back," Shimer said. "This is the last
race of the year, the last two heats of my career. I might have
hamstrings, calves, everything falling off my body on the pushes
tomorrow.
"With a little bit of luck, who knows, we might have two [American
teams] on the podium tomorrow."