TEAM USA WINS GOLD AT PARA SPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

LILLEHAMMER, NORWAY (March 10, 2024) - Team USA had a victorious day at the IBSF Para Sport World Championships with Bob Balk winning gold and becoming this season’s World Champion in Para Bobsled. 

After two runs yesterday on the 9th, Balk was in first with a two-run time of 1:51.80. Will Castillo was in ninth with a time of 1:52.51, David Christopher was in thirteenth place with a time of 1:52.51 and Austin Parker was in 14th with a time of 1:54.37. 

Today, after the final two runs, Balk finished first with an overall time of 3:44.10, Castillo finished ninth with a time of 3:45.49, Christopher finished 13th with a time of 3:48.10 and Parker finished 14th with a time of 3:48.45.

“Thank you to the race organizers and track workers for giving us such a great track and ice to race on this morning!  It is a privilege to be racing with such talented and collegial group of competitors.  Everyone pushes and supports each other to their very best,’ shared Balk. In the process of becoming this season’s champion, he broke the track record in Lillehammer, the second time that this has happened this season for US para sliders.

Before the World Championship festivities had started, there was a Para Sport World Cup race held in Lillehammer on the 8th. In this event, Balk again made it onto the podium, placing third with a two-run time of 1:52.72. Castillo placed 11th with a time of 1:53.35, Parker finished 13th with a time of 1:54.42 and Christopher placed 14th with a time of 1:54.62.

Back stateside, the largest event in IBSF history took place in Lake Placid, N.Y. Events kicked off on March 6.

In race one for 2-Man Bobsled in the North American Cup (NAC) division, Kris Horn and Josh Williamson placed second with a time of 1:55.24. Geoff Gadbois and Collin Storms placed thief with a time of 1:56.37, Shane Fisher and Trevor Chase placed eighth with a time of 1:57.75, Grady Mercer and Logan Radik placed tenth with a time of 2:58.18 and John Lansing placed 16th with Robert Davis with their time of 2:04.30. 

Also on the 6th, the first heat of NAC Women’s Monobob took place. Riley Tejcek placed seventh with her time of 2:06.65 and Emily Bradley placed 9th with her time of 2:09.75.

These races also served as the first-ever Junior Pan American Championships. On the women’s side, Bradley placed first in the Junior Pan American Championships and Junior Pan American Championships U23. On the Men’s side, Mercer and Radik placed first and Lansing/Davis placed fourth. In the U23 division, Lansing/Davis placed first.

On the 7th, events continued at Mt. Vanhoevenberg with NAC Men’s and Women’s Skeleton in addition to more bobsled. 

In Men’s Skeleton, Austin Florian placed second with his time of 1:50.58. Nick Tucker placed 20th with a time of 1:53.85, Bradley Nicol placed 31st with a one-run time of 57.22, Sam Allred placed 35th with a time of 57.52, Darryl Payne placed 42 with a time of 58.23 and Andrew Whittier placed 49th with a time of 58.59.

On the Women’s Skeleton side, Mystique Ro placed first with her time of 1:52.68. Katie Uhlaender placed third with her time of 1:53.22, Sara Roderick placed tenth with her time of 1:54.41, Logan Wudi placed 18th with her time of 1:55.93, and Sha’Londa Terry and Biancha Emery placed 26th and 40th with their respective one-run times of 58.37 and 1:01.46.

With her time, Emery placed second in the Junior Pan American Championships/Junior Pan American Championships U20.

In NAC 2-Man race two, Horn and Williamson placed second with their time of 1:54.31, Gadbois and Storms placed third with their time of 1:54.32, Mercer and Brandon Jetter placed ninth with their time of 1:56.88 while Fisher and Tim Monroe placed tenth with their time of 1:57.03.

In Women’s Monobob race two, Tejcek placed seventh with a time of 2:04.57 and Bradly placed ninth with a time of 2:07.39.

The 8th in Lake Placid brought race two for both Men’s and Women’s Skeleton. In the men’s division, Dan Barefoot placed 12th with a time of 1:49.81. Tucker placed 27th with his one-run time of 55.69, Nicol placed 30th with his time of 55.80, Dylan Burris placed 41st with a time of 56.64, Payne placed 42nd with a time of 56.87 and Allred placed 45th with a time of 57.44.

In Women’s Skeleton, Roderick placed second with a two-run time of 1:51.26, Uhlaender placed third with a time of 1:51.52, Wudi placed 16th with a time of 1:53.66, Michelle Toukan placed 18th with a time of 1:54.16, while Terry and Emery placed 33rd and 40th with one-run times of 58.55 and 1:00.70.

On the 9th, race one for NAC 4-Man and  2-Woman Bobsled took place. In 2-Woman, Kaysha Love and Sydney Milani placed first with a time of 1:57.03, Tejcek and Macy Tarlton placed fifth with a time of 1:58.51, Sylvia Hoffman and DeAndra Greer placed sixth with a time of 1:59.26 and Bradley alongside Hannah Cunningham placed 11th with a time of 2:02.20. 

With her and Cunningham’s combined run times, Bradley placed first in the 2-Woman Junior Pan American Championships and Junior Pan American Championships U23. 

In 4-Man, Gadbois, Storms, Radik, and Jetter placed fifth with a time of 1:54.06. Horn, Darius Joseph, Chase, and Jace Johnson placed sixth with a time of 1:54.07.

Today, March 10th, the last couple races took place in Lake Placid for this historic and monumental event. In race two for 2-Woman, Love and Azaria Hill placed first with a two-run time of 1:56.03, Tejcek and Milani placed fourth with a time of 1:58.09, Hoffman and Tarlton placed fifth with a time of 1:58.22 and Bradley alongside Cunningham placed tenth with a time of 2:02.47.

In 4-Man, Horn, Joseph, Chase, and Johnson placed second with a time of 1:53.11. Geoff, Storms, Radik, and Jetter placed fifth with a time of 1:53.68.

Events will continue in Lake Placid with the IBSF World Cup and the coinciding Pan American Championships taking place March 21st through 23rd.

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About USA Bobsled/Skeleton

USA Bobsled/Skeleton is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton racing in the United States. Based in Lake Placid, NY, USA Bobsled/Skeleton oversees the development and training of American athletes at all levels of competition.