Codie Bascue during a training run in Altenberg.

ALTENBERG, Germany (December 5, 2021) – Codie Bascue (Whitehall, N.Y.) teamed with Carlo Valdes (Newport Beach, Calif.), Blaine McConnell (Tacoma, Wash.) and Nic Taylor (Hayward, Calif.) for 19th place in today’s four-man bobsled World Cup in Altenberg. Hunter Church (Cadyville, N.Y.), Josh Williamson (Lake Mary, Fla.), Jimmy Reed (Garmisch, Germany) and Hakeem Abdul Saboor (Powhatan, Va.) finished 21st. 

Bascue, Valdes, McConnell and Taylor posted consistent start times of 5.27 and 5.26 seconds today, 18th and 17th best of the field, respectively. Bascue navigated the Under Armour branded sled to the finish in 55.25 and 55.95 seconds for a combined time of 1:50.20 to finish 19th.

Church competed in Altenberg for the first time two seasons ago during the 2020 World Championships and this was only his second competition on the German course. He teamed with Williamson, Reed and Abdul Saboor for the sixth best start time of 5.17 seconds. The crew crossed the finish line in 55.35 seconds for 21st place, missing the top-20 cutoff for the second heat.

Francesco Friedrich teamed with Thorsten Margis, Candy Bauer and Alexander Schueller to win gold for Germany with a combined time of 1:47.96. This was Friedrich’s 90th career World Cup medal. The Germans finished 0.67 seconds ahead of Austrians Benjamin Maier, Sascha Stepan, Markus Sammer and Kristian Huber, who claimed silver in 1:48.63. Russians Gaitiukevich, Mordasov, Zharovtsev and Travkin earned bronze with a two-run total of 1:48.76.

The World Cup tour will move on to Winterberg, Germany for the fourth stop of the series. Races will be held from December 10-12.

For media inquiries, please contact USABS Marketing and Communications Director Amanda Bird at amanda.bird@usabs.com.

###

Results

1. Friedrich, Margis, Bauer and Schueller (GER) 1:47.96 (53.99, 53.97);

2. Maier, Stepan, Sammer and Huber (AUT) 1:48.63 (54.35, 54.28);

3. Gaitiukevich, Mordasov, Zharovtsev and Travkin (RUS) 1:48.76 (54.40, 54.36);

19. Bascue, McConnell, Valdes and Taylor (USA) 1:50.20 (55.25, 54.95);

21. Church, Williamson, Reed and Abdul Saboor (USA) (55.35, DNS);

About USA Bobsled/Skeleton

USA Bobsled/Skeleton (USABS), based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. For more information, please visit the USABS website at www.usabs.com. Individuals interested in becoming a bobsled or skeleton athlete can visit www.usabobsledskeleton.com.