Evans breaks Calgary Ice House record en route to victory, while Langton wins his first event in his return to bobsledding
(Calgary, CAN – July 27, 2017) USA Bobsled brakeman Steve Langton has made a splash in his return to the sport, winning the USA Bobsled Push Championships over a stacked field of American men. The 2012 World Champion and 2014 Olympic medalist edged Evan Weinstock in the second heat of the two-heat race to take the title by .01.
The event was held in the Calgary Ice House.
Langton has been working on a comeback this year (see related story here) and had hoped to have at least a solid day on his comeback.
“I knew I didn’t have to have a great day, I just had to have a good day to win,” Langton told the USABS. “My strength came back really quick, but the speed part is a little slow to return.”
Winstock, the 2016 Push Championships runner-up, was happy with his day as well. “It’s been a very short off-season, and I feel like the sason just ended, but my training is coming around just in time,” he said. “I know I can make a lot more improvements with more time working on my strength.”
Nate Weber, Chris Fogt and Chris Kinney rounded out the top five on the men’s side.
In the women’s event, Olympic silver medalist Aja Evans broke an eight-year Calgary Ice House push record on her way to winning the Push Championship.
Evans’ first push of 5.39 was .01 faster than the record set by then-brakewoman Elana Meyers Taylor. Her second was .05 off her first push pace, but was plenty quick enough to win.
“This is a stepping stone, and it’s good to know I can still finish really high without having to change my training schedule as I continue getting stronger and faster,” Evans told USA Bobsled & Skeleton.
Lolo Jones came into the second heat tied with Lauren Gibbs and Nikia Squire, and edged Gibbs by .01 to take second while Gibbs held on for third.
Squire tied Briauna Jones in the second heat to finish fourth, while Jones finished fifth.
Bobsled pilots take to the Calgary Ice House on Friday for their push championships, and the event will be streamed live at http://www.teamusa.org/usa-bobsled-skeleton-federation/events/live-watch-live.
Results:
| Men’s Push Athletes | Women’s Push Athletes | |||||||||
| Pos. | Name | Push 1 | Push 2 | Total | Pos. | Name | Push 1 | Push 2 | Total | |
| 1 | Steve Langton | 5.00 | 5.01 | 10.01 | 1 | Aja Evans | 5.39 | 5.44 | 10.83 | |
| 2 | Evan Weinstock | 5.00 | 5.02 | 10.02 | 2 | Lolo Jones | 5.49 | 5.48 | 10.97 | |
| 3 | Nate Weber | 5.03 | 5.07 | 10.10 | 3 | Lauren Gibbs | 5.49 | 5.49 | 10.98 | |
| 4 | Chris Fogt | 5.03 | 5.11 | 10.14 | 4 | Nikia Squire | 5.49 | 5.52 | 11.01 | |
| 5 | Chris Kinney | 5.06 | 5.09 | 10.15 | 5 | Briauna Jones | 5.51 | 5.52 | 11.03 | |
| 6 | Sam McGuffie | 5.07 | 5.11 | 10.18 | 6 | Kehri Jones | 5.54 | 5.55 | 11.09 | |
| 7 | Hakeem Abdul-Saboor | 5.08 | 5.11 | 10.19 | 7 | Maureen Ajoku | 5.62 | 5.67 | 11.29 | |
| 8 | Alex Harrison | 5.11 | 5.11 | 10.22 | 8 | Cherrelle Garrett | 5.64 | 5.69 | 11.33 | |
| 8 | Carlo Valdes | 5.09 | 5.13 | 10.22 | 9 | Bonnie Kilis | 5.74 | 5.75 | 11.49 | |
| 10 | Nathan Gilsleider | 5.11 | 5.16 | 10.27 | 10 | Shelby Williamson | 5.86 | 5.90 | 11.76 | |
| 11 | Lou Moreira | 5.10 | 5.18 | 10.28 | 11 | Sable Otey | 5.80 | 5.80 | 11.60 | |
| 12 | Frank Del Duca | 5.15 | 5.15 | 10.30 | 12 | Sinead Corley | 5.91 | 5.93 | 11.84 | |
| 13 | Nic Taylor | 5.16 | 5.15 | 10.31 | ||||||
| 14 | Andreas Drbal | 5.15 | 5.18 | 10.33 | ||||||
| 15 | Brent Fogt | 5.19 | 5.15 | 10.34 | ||||||
| 15 | Austin Landis | 5.14 | 5.20 | 10.34 | ||||||
| 17 | Adrian Adams | 5.14 | 5.22 | 10.36 | ||||||
| 18 | Sam Michener | 5.16 | 5.21 | 10.37 | ||||||
| 19 | Ryan Bailey | 5.16 | 5.24 | 10.40 | ||||||
| 19 | Josh Williamson | 5.20 | 5.20 | 10.40 | ||||||
| 21 | Richard Roethel | 5.19 | 5.23 | 10.42 | ||||||
| 22 | David Simon | 5.22 | 5.23 | 10.45 | ||||||
| 23 | Deangelo Wilson | 5.24 | 5.32 | 10.56 | ||||||
| 24 | Erik Baker | 5.26 | 5.31 | 10.57 | ||||||
| 25 | Kyle Horne | 5.23 | 5.35 | 10.58 | ||||||
| 26 | Miles Dunlap | 5.31 | 5.37 | 10.68 | ||||||
Information provided by USA Bobsled & Skeleton was used in this article.
