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Sleigh rides Hays, Hines have U.S. fifth after heatsPosted: Saturday February 16, 2002 7:40 PMUpdated: Saturday February 16, 2002 9:25 PM
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) -- American Todd Hays, trying to end a 46-year medal drought for the U.S. bobsled team, finished fifth Saturday after the first two runs of the two-man competition. Driving the fire-engine red USA-1 sled, Hays and brakeman Garrett Hines completed their two runs in 1 minute, 35.41 seconds -- 0.36 behind leader Christian Reich in Switzerland-1. Hays, a former college linebacker from Del Rio, Texas, will have to slide past two sleds in Sunday's final two heats for the United States to get its first medal since winning the four-man bronze at the 1956 Cortina Games. It won't be easy for Hays with the drivers he has in front of him.
"Nerves may have played a part," he said. "I'm not real sure. I just know I didn't drive real well, and that happens. The problem is it can't happen at the Olympic Games. Now that I've got it out of the system, hopefully I can come back and put in two smokers tomorrow and get a medal." Reich, who finished fourth at Nagano four years ago, powered his black-and-gold sled to a track record 47.52 seconds in the first run and then followed up with a 47.53 down the 15-curve canyon course at Utah Olympic Park. Reich has just a 0.01 lead over Germany's Christoph Langen, who won the two-man bronze and four-man gold at Nagano. Langen and his brakeman, Markus Zimmerman, matched the track record on their second try and trimmed 0.01 seconds off Reich's lead. Switzerland's Martin Annen, the World Cup champion in two-man who crashed during training, is in third at 1:35.20. Defending Olympic champion Pierre Lueders of Canada was fourth -- 0.17 behind Annen and brakeman Beat Hefti. Italy's Guenther Huber, who shared gold in 1998 with Lueders, is eighth. Brian Shimer of Naples, Fla., in his fifth Olympics, is in ninth place. Only 37 of the scheduled 38 sleds competed in both runs after the Puerto Rican team of Michael Gonzales and Manuel Repollet failed to show at the track. The Puerto Rican delegation pulled out of the Salt Lake City Games after discovering Gonzalez didn't meet its eligibility requirements. He couldn't prove he had lived on the island for three years. The decision to keep him out of competition was made Friday night. "He's a great, great guy, but those are the rules," said Hector Cardona, president of the Puerto Rican Olympic committee. "We have to follow the rules." Latvian driver Sandis Prusis, banned for three months for steroid use before being reinstated in time for the games, was 10th and out of medal contention. Hays could be in a similar bind. With a cow-bell clanging capacity crowd of 15,000 roaring as they barreled out of the starting gate, Hays and Hines lost time on their first run when they bumped the walls a few times. They were a little slower on their second start, but Hays said he was much more pleased with his driving. There was an anxious moment in the first run when the Russia-1 team couldn't retract one of its push bars after the start. Driver Alexander Zoubkov tried unsuccessfully to pull the bar back in, but gave up and the sled sped the entire way down. An announcement warned spectators to step back from the track but the sled stayed on course and did not crash.
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