From the Home Office in Durham, USA
So here it is, the time that everyone has worked over the last few years for: The 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The past few season have given us many highs and lows across the different sliding disciplines, with some athletes dominating their sport across the last two to three years, while others have come on strong late, looking to peak at just the right time for Olympic immortality.
Below is the Sliding On Ice Olympic preview for the FIBT, starting as we started the 2013/2014 season preview.
Men’s Skeleton
Reigning World Champion: Alexander Tretyakov (RUS)
Reigning Olympic Champion: Jon Montgomery (CAN)
2013/2014 World Cup Champion: Martins Dukurs (LAT)
Martins Dukurs.
Okay, once again, that’s out of the way and we can get on with the rest of the field. For the most part, he 2013/2014 FIBT World Cup season saw a lot of the same from the top end of the field. The man they call Superman dominated most of the races, but did falter briefly in North America, leaving the door open for traditional opponents Alexander Tretyakov of Russia and Dukurs’s own brother, Tomass. Also taking advantage of those slip-ups was American Matt Antoine. Antoine, a gold medalist in Lake Placid, is right now at the peak of his game and contended week in and week out for podium finishes. He looks to cap off his season on the podium, while Tretyakov has been the only man to seriously contend most weekends with the younger Dukurs.
On top of Antoine’s stellar season, the American men made great gains this season and are looking forward to racing on a track they did well on in 2013. John Daly and Kyle Tress finish out the men’s skeleton roster, both sliders had banner years for the United States, finishing consistently in and around the top ten week in and week out.
The Germans, on the other hand, have been sliding backwards. Frank Rommel had a tough time cracking the top six this season, and while he and Alexander Kröckel both finished in the top-ten in World Cup points, neither seriously contended for a gold medal save for Rommel’s brief stint as track record holder in Königssee (a time that was bested two minutes later by Martins Dukurs).
Canadian skeleton has been, at best, slightly confusing at times. At the end of the 2013 selection process, it was announced that Olympic champion Jon Montgomery would start the season on the Intercontinental Cup tour. He stayed there for the bulk of the season, while Dave Greszczyszyn ran as the third sled in World Cup. After a few early successes, Greszczyszyn was mired in the lower part of the results and World Cup standings of those running all of
the races. Montgomery was brought back late, but at that point the damage had been done. In turn, Canada sends just two sleds to the Olympics. That’s the bad news, the good news is that both John Fairbairn and Eric Neilson have slid very well in 2014 and Fairbairn scored his first ever World Cup medal at St. Moritz.
Great Britain will send two sleds to the men’s skeleton race, with Kristan Bromley finishing the season strong with a solid finish in the European Championship race in Königssee. Bromley will be joined by Calgary bronze-medalist Dominic Parsons, who found himself hovering around the top-ten most weeks this season, save for a disappointing weekend in St. Moritz.
Women’s Skeleton
Reigning World Champion: Shelley Rudman (GBR)
Reigning Olympic Champion: Amy Williams (GBR)
2013/2014 Word Cup Champion: Elizabeth Yarnold (GBR)
Women’s skeleton, on the surface, has become a British sport. Look above this line, and you’ll see that the current world champion, Olympic champion and World Cup champion are all British. That said, there’s some strong competition in these Olympics for gold. Though Lizzy Yarnold won the World Cup title, it can be argued that Noelle Pikus-Pace had a better season. Pikus-Pace was disqualified in the first race of the season for having a small piece of tape on the handle of her sled. By most accounts this gave Pikus-Pace no competitive advantage, but the rule is in place and thus the American was disqualified. Since that disqualification, Pikus-Pace has no finish worse than bronze, while Yarnold was equally consistent throughout the season until Königssee, where she finished ninth.
Not to be overlooked, though, is current World Champion Shelley Rudman. Rudman finished outside of the top-ten exactly once, and that was in a one-heat race in Lake Placid. Rudman has come on strong late, as well, boasting three top-fives in the last three races of the season, including two bronze
medals.
The 2012 World Champion, Katie Uhlaender, is in a state of flux at the moment. The American, when healthy, is a permanent contender for the podium. Uhlaender has been fighting a head injury sustained at the beginning of the season, and has shown moments of brilliance surrounded by a season of frustration. That said, two weeks off might be exactly what she needs going into a track she finished second on just a year ago.
Much like the men’s side of things, Canada’s 2013/2014 women’s skeleton campaign was confusing, at best. Mellisa Hollingsworth was sent to the Intercontinental Cup, while Robynne Thompson took her place. Two races into the season it seemed like the right call, with no woman outside the top-ten in World Cup rankings. Hollingsworth was brought back into the fold, with Cassie Hawrysh being sent to the Intercontinental Cup. From there, the wheels fell off and in turn Canada will only send Hollingsworth and Sarah Reid to the Olympics. Both women, however, will be competitive on the Russian ice.
The German women’s skeleton program, on the other hand, was just plain disappointing. While Marion Thees and Anja Huber were consistently within the top-ten, the podium finishes that they usually see were few and far between. There’s been rumblings that issues with the sled they’ve been using may have been factor in the substandard season overall. Thees and Huber will be joined by Sophia Griebel, who showed flashes of speed throughout the season.
Austria sends only one woman to the skeleton event, but Janine Flock is the best they’ve ever had. Flock is coming off a banner season where she finished in the top-ten in all but two races, and inside the top-five in all but three.
Women’s Bobsled
Current World Champion: Kaillie Humphries (CAN)
Current Olympic Champion: Kaillie Humphries (CAN)
2013/2014 World Cup Champion: Kaillie Humphries (CAN)
Once again, it was Kaillie Humphries atop the World Cup rankings. This year, however, the Canadian saw some of her stiffest competition to date, and managed to win the World Cup by a mere one point over American Elana Meyers. Meyers and teammate Jamie Greubel both consistently contended for gold medals, with both pilots finding time at the top of the leaderboard. In the end, a tenth place finish in Königssee for Greubel and a 12th place finish for Meyers in St. Moritz were what handed the title to the Canadian.
Sending three sleds to the Olympics, Germany’s entire team found time contending for medals throughout the World Cup season. Sandra Kiriasis led the way in her farewell season, failing to finish within the top-six just once (at the first Park City race). She’ll be joined by Cathleen Martini and Anja
Heather Moyse (CAN)
Schneiderheinze. All three finished in the top-eight at the Sochi test event in 2013, with Kiriasis taking gold.
The Americans will have three sleds in the field, as well. Joining Meyers and Greubel will be Jazmine Fenlator. The New Jersey native showed flashes of speed throughout the 2013/2014 campaign, but lacked some of the consistency that her teammates had. If Fenlator can piece together three quality runs and be in the running for the fourth heat in Sochi, she has just as good of a chance as any to make the field.
The Swiss team sends two sleds, and both could possibly contend for a medal. Fabienne Meyer has come on strong late, winning the European championship race in Königssee, while teammate Caroline Spahni was strong earlier in the season. Belgium and the Netherlands both will field one sled, with Elfje Willemsen and Esme Kampuhis both having very solid late parts of their season. Both appear to be peaking at just the right time.
Great Britain, at one point, was fielding three sleds in the World Cup, but will leave it to Paula Walker to try to bring home a medal for Team GB.
Two-Man Bobsled
Current World Champion: Francesco Friedrich (GER)
Current Olympic Champion: Andre Lange (GER)
2013/2014 World Cup Champion: Steven Holcomb (USA)
Much like the 2012/2013 season, the 2014 Olympic season’s two-man campaign was highlighted by two men: Steven Holcomb and Beat Hefti. Between the two of them, the American and Swiss pilots took all but one gold medal (with Canadian Justin Kripps taking the final race). Holcomb dominated the North American swing, and while Europe posed occasional challenges, the American all but cruised to a World Cup title.
Challenging the two leaders will be a host of teams, including Holcomb’s teammates Cory Butner and Nick Cunningham. Both pilots found time on the two-man podium, and were consistently challenging in the top-five. Butner especially made huge gains in the 2013/2014 season, and looks to be a serious contender in Sochi. While there’s been trouble for the American team in four-man bobsled, the two-man program is strong.
Steve Langton (USA)
Germany, on the other hand, has lacked a bit this year in the two-man discipline, scoring only two bronze medals in the entire 2013/2014 season. The man who won both of those medals, Francesco Friedrich, will lead Thomas Florschütz and Maximilian Arndt on a track where Florschütz was strong during the test event a year ago, but the rest of the team struggled on.
Canada’s two-man program was consistently in the top-ten throughout the season, with all three sleds contending for medals at different times throughout the season. Late in the year, Lyndon Rush found himself contending for top-fives, topping off with a medal in Königssee, a race in which teammate Justin Kripps won. They’ll be joined by Chris Spring, who, while only medaling in Calgry, always seemed to be lingering around the top-five.
Russia’s overall bobsled strength lies in four-man bobsled, though Alexander Zubkov held his own in the two-man discipline. Coming on strong in the European swing, Zubkov will race on home ice after finishing with two silvers and a bronze in his final three races (skipping Königsee). He’ll likely be Russia’s only shot a two-man medal, as teammate Alexander Kasjanov only found the top-ten twice in the entire 2013/2014 season.
Four-Man Bobsled
Current World Champion: Maximilian Arndt (GER)
Current Olympic Champion: Steven Holcomb (USA)
2013/2014 World Cup Champion: Maximilian Arndt (GER)
Where Germany lacked in two-man bobsled this season, they made up for it in four-man. Led by World Cup champion and defending World Champion Maximilian Arndt, all three pilots found time on the podium, especially thriving in Europe. That said, there’s some cause for concern in the German stable, as the final couple races of the year saw declining results. Königssee especially was dismal, with Fracesco Friedrich being the only sled to score a top-five in the European Championship race. If the Germans can return to form, they’ll contend for gold.
For the Germans to win, however, they’ll have the home team to contend with. Alexander Zubkov and his four-man team is habitually strong, and scored in the top-ten in over 70% of events entered. Zubkov’s teammate, Alexander Kasjanov, is much stronger in four-man than two-man, and scored a medal in
Park City.
It was a very up-and-down year for the American four-man program. Steven Holcomb finished second overall and won four of the seven races during the season. Minus a very forgettable Winterberg trip where Night Train 2 went over in one of the two races, Holcomb would have likely taken the four-man season title. Behind him, though, was tough sliding for teammates Nick Cunningham and Cory Butner. Cunningham finished inside the top ten just twice (Igls and Königssee), while Butner had a late crash in Königssee practice and wasn’t able to qualify his sled. With all of that, it will be Cunningham joining Holcomb in four-man in a two-sled effort.
There’s no doubt that, when it comes to the initial push, Latvia has the four-man teams to beat. Both Oskars Melbardis and Oskards Kibermanis are strong at the top, but their youthful lack of experience can occasionally be their undoing. Melbardis, though, scored two gold medals and failed to finish outside of the top-six just twice. Add to that a win in Sochi in the 2013 test event and Latvia has a very realistic shot at taking home two sliding gold medals in 2014’s Olympics.
Canadian four-man has been consistently strong, as well. While Chris Spring has done “okay” in two-man, his four-man season was solid. Despite not taking a medal, Spring failed to finish outside the top-seven just once, and on more than one occasion missed a medal by less than .09 seconds. Both Lyndon Rush and Justin Kripps were consistent in their finishes, usually somewhere between seventh to 11th place, though Rush took bronze in the final World Cup race in Königssee.
Despite an Achilles tear in April, John Jackson of Great Britain has seen astounding success this year. With strong pushes from his team, Jackson led the Brits to their first four-man bobsled medal since 1998 in Lake Placid, and took fourth place in the final event of the season in Königssee, winning European Championship bronze in the process.
Olympic Rosters
Below are the full Olympic rosters for the various bobsled and skeleton teams entered for the 2014 Games, ordered by nation.
| Men’s Skeleton | Women’s Skeleton | |||||
| Name | Nation | FIBT Rank | Name | Nation | FIBT Rank | |
| John Farrow | AUS | 35 | Lucy Chaffer | AUS | 15 | |
| Matthias Guggenberger | AUT | 19 | Michelle Steele | AUS | 11 | |
| Raphael Maier | AUT | 17 | Janine Flock | AUT | 4 | |
| John Fairbairn | CAN | 8 | Mellisa Hollingsworth | CAN | 20 | |
| Eric Neilson | CAN | 15 | Sarah Reid | CAN | 17 | |
| Ander Mirambell | ESP | 43 | Shelley Rudman | GBR | 3 | |
| Kristan Bromley | GBR | 11 | Elizabeth Yarnold | GBR | 1 | |
| Dominic Parsons | GBR | 13 | Sophia Griebel | GER | 8 | |
| Alexander Kröckel | GER | 6 | Anja Huber | GER | 5 | |
| Frank Rommel | GER | 5 | Marion Thees | GER | 6 | |
| Alexandros Kefalas | GRE | 34 | Nozom I Komuro | JPN | 27 | |
| Sean Greenwood | IRL | 29 | Lelde Priedulena | LAT | 29 | |
| Maurizio Oioli | ITA | 27 | Katharine Eustace | NZL | 9 | |
| Yuki Sasahara | JPN | 25 | Maria Marinnela Mazilu | ROU | 37 | |
| Hiroatsu Takahashi | JPN | 10 | Elena Nikitina | RUS | 12 | |
| Hansin Lee | KOR | 39 | Maria Orlova | RUS | 10 | |
| Seongbin Yun | KOR | 22 | Olga Potylitsina | RUS | 14 | |
| Martins Dukurs | LAT | 1 | Marina Gilardoni | SUI | 7 | |
| Tomass Dukurs | LAT | 2 | Noelle Pikus Pace | USA | 2 | |
| Ben Sandford | NZL | 45 | Katie Uhlaender | USA | 16 | |
| Dorin Velicu | ROU | 52 | ||||
| Sergei Chudinov | RUS | 7 | ||||
| Alexander Tretyakov | RUS | 4 | ||||
| Nikita Tregybov | RUS | 20 | ||||
| Matthew Antoine | USA | 3 | ||||
| John Daly | USA | 9 | ||||
| Kyle Tress | USA | 12 |
| Two-Man Bobsled | Women’s Bobsled | |||||||
| Pilot | Brakeman | Nation | FIBT Rank | Pilot | Brakewoman | Nation | FIBT Rank | |
| Heath Spence | Duncan Harvey | AUS | 34 | Astrid Radjenovic | Jana Pittman | AUS | 18 | |
| Benjamin Maier | Markus Sammer | AUT | 22 | Christina Hengster | Viola Kleiser | AUT | 20 | |
| Lyndon Rush | Lascelles Brown | CAN | 7 | Elfje Willemsen | Hannna Marien | BEL | 10 | |
| Chris Spring | Jesse Lumsden | CAN | 9 | Fabiana Santos | Sally Mayara Da Silva | BRA | 28 | |
| Justin Kripps | Bryan Barnett | CAN | 10 | Kaillie Humphries | Heather Moyse | CAN | 1 | |
| Jan Vrba | Michael Vacek | CZE | 46 | Jennifer Ciochetti | Chelsea Valois | CAN | 14 | |
| Loic Costerg | Romain Heinrich | FRA | 20 | Cathleen Martini | Christin Senkel | GER | 5 | |
| Maximilian Arndt | Marko Hübenbecker | GER | 11 | Anja Schneiderheinze | Stephanie Schneider | GER | 6 | |
| Thomas Florschütz | Kevin Kuske | GER | 8 | Sandra Kiriasis | Fraziska Fritz | GER | 4 | |
| Francesco Friedrich | Jannis Baecker | GER | 4 | Paula Walker | Rebekah Wilson | GBR | 13 | |
| Lamin Deen | Craig Pickering | GBR | 29 | Sunok Kim | Mihwa Shin | KOR | 30 | |
| Simone Bertazzo | Francesco Costa | ITA | 18 | Esme Kamphuis | Judith Vis | NED | 9 | |
| Winston Watts | Marvin Dixon | JAM | 40 | Maria Constantin | Andreea Grecu | ROU | 26 | |
| Hiroshi Suzuki | Hisashi Miyazaki | JPN | 28 | Olga Stulneva | Liudmila Udobkina | RUS | 12 | |
| Yunjong Won | Youngwoo Seo | KOR | 19 | Nadezhda Sergeeva | Nadezhda Paleeva | RUS | 27 | |
| Donghyun Kim | Junglin Jun | KOR | 23 | Fabienne Meyer | Tanja Mayer | SUI | 8 | |
| Oskars Melbardis | Daumants Dreiskens | LAT | 12 | Caroline Spahni | Ariane Walser | SUI | 11 | |
| Oskars Kibermanis | Vairis Leiboms | LAT | 15 | Elana Meyers | Aja Evans | USA | 2 | |
| Patrice Servelle | Sebastien Gattuso | MON | 24 | Jamie Gruebel | Lauryn Williams | USA | 3 | |
| Edwin Van Calker | Bror Van Der Zijde | NED | 26 | Jazmine Fenlator | Lolo Jones | USA | 7 | |
| Dawid Kupczyk | Pawel Mroz | POL | 32 | |||||
| Nicolae Istrate | Florin Craciun | ROU | 25 | |||||
| Alexander Zubkov | Alexey Voevoda | RUS | 3 | |||||
| Alexander Kasjanov | Maxim Belugin | RUS | 13 | |||||
| Vuk Radjenovic | Aleksandar Bundalo | SRB | 42 | |||||
| Beat Hefti | Alex Baumann | SUI | 2 | |||||
| Rico Peter | Thomas Lamparter | SUI | 14 | |||||
| Steven Holcomb | Steve Langton | USA | 1 | |||||
| Nick Cunningham | Johnny Quinn | USA | 6 | |||||
| Cory Butner | Justin Olsen | USA | 5 |
| Four-Man Bobsled | |||||
| Pilot | Push | Push | Push | Nation | FIBT Rank |
| Heath Spence | Duncan Harvey | Lucas Mata | Gareth Nichols | AUS | 31 |
| Benjamin Maier | Markus Sammer | Angel Somov | Stefan Withalm | AUT | 32 |
| Edson Bindilatti | Fabio Goncalves Silva | Edson Ricardo Martins | Odirlei Pessoni | BRA | 36 |
| Lyndon Rush | David Bissett | Lascelles Brown | Neville Wright | CAN | 9 |
| Chris Spring | Ben Coakwell | Jesse Lumsden | Cody Sorensen | CAN | 5 |
| Justin Kripps | Bryan Barnett | James McNaughton | Timothy Randall | CAN | 10 |
| Jan Vrba | Dominik Suchy | Michael Vacek | Dominik Dvorak | CZE | 22 |
| Loic Costerg | Romain Heinrich | Elly Lefort | Florent Ribet | FRA | 30 |
| Thibault Alexis Godefroy | Jeremy Ballard | Jeremie Boutherin | Vincent Ricard | FRA | 46 |
| Maximilian Arndt | Martin Putze | Alexander Rödiger | Marko Hübenbecker | GER | 1 |
| Thomas Florschütz | Joshua Bluhm | Kevin Kuske | Christian Poser | GER | 4 |
| Francesco Friedrich | Jannis Baecker | Gregor Bermbach | Thorsten Margis | GER | 8 |
| John James Jackson | Bruce Tasker | Joel Fearon | Stuart Benson | GBR | 12 |
| Lamin Deen | Craig Pickering | John Baines | Ben Simons | GBR | 20 |
| Simone Bertazzo | Fracesco Costa | Simone Fontana | William Frullani | ITA | 17 |
| Hiroshi Suzuki | Toshiki Kuroiwa | Hisashi Miyazaki | Shintaro Sato | JPN | 25 |
| Yungjong Won | Youngjin Suk | Junglin Jun | Youngwoo Seo | KOR | 26 |
| Donghyun Kim | Sik Kim | Kyunghyun Kim | Jeahan Oh | KOR | 44 |
| Oskars Melbardis | Daumants Dreiskens | Arvis Vilkaste | Janis Strenga | LAT | 7 |
| Oskars Kibarmanis | Raivis Broks | Helvijs Lusis | Vairis Leiboms | LAT | 16 |
| Edwin Van Calker | Sybren Jansma | Arno Klaassen | Bror Van Der Zijde | NED | 14 |
| Dawid Kupczyk | Daniel Zalewski | Marcin Niewiara | Pawel Mroz | POL | 34 |
| Andreeas Paul Negau | Danut Moldovan | Paul Muntean | Bogdan Laurentiu Otava | ROU | 33 |
| Alexander Zubkov | Alexey Negodaylo | Dmitry Trunenkov | Alexey Voevoda | RUS | 3 |
| Alexander Kasjanov | Ilvir Huzin | Maxim Belugin | Petr Moiseev | RUS | 6 |
| Nikita Zakharov | Aleksei Pushkarev | Kirill Antukh | Maxim Mokrousov | RUS | 15 |
| Milan Jagnesak | Martin Tesovic | Lukas Kozienka | Juraj Mokras | SLO | 38 |
| Beat Hefti | Alex Baumann | Juerg Egger | Thomas Lamparter | SUI | 11 |
| Steven Holcomb | Christopher Fogt | Steve Langton | Curt Tomasevicz | USA | 2 |
| Nick Cunningham | Justin Olsen | Johnny Quinn | Dallas Robinson | USA | 13 |
