(Left to right) Frank Del Duca, Hakeem Abdul Saboor, Hunter Church and Charlie Volker at the finish in Winterberg.

WINTERBERG, Germany (January 8, 2022) – Hunter Church (Cadyville, N.Y.) and Charlie Volker (Fair Haven, N.J.) finished 13th in today’s two-man bobsled World Cup race in Winterberg. Frank Del Duca (Bethel, Maine), who was promoted to the World Cup team after medaling in all 16 North American Cup races this season, teamed up with Hakeem Abdul Saboor (Powhatan, Va.) to finish 15th.

“Our technology and equipment lead, Marc Van Den Berg, did a lot of work on Hunter and Frank’s sleds this week,” said USA Bobsled Head Coach Mike Kohn. “Marc was a workhorse this week making sure the equipment was race ready, regardless of circumstances. He did all of that work through power outages and lack of garage space. He found some speed in Hunter’s sled, and he had to modify Elana Meyers Taylor’s sled for Frank to use. ”

Church and Volker posted start times of 5.23 and 5.26 seconds for runs of 55.63 and 55.75 seconds, respectively. The duo was the top American team in 13th with a combined time of 1:52.38.

Del Duca made his World Cup debut as a driver today, and raced in Europe from the driver’s seat for the second time in his career. He competed in 15 World Cup races as a push athlete from 2015-2017. Del Duca and Abdul Saboor put together a respectable result today, finishing 15th with a two-run total of 1:51.65. The pair pushed off the block in 5.24 and 5.25 seconds for runs of 55.85 and 55.80 seconds.

“This is one of Hunter’s best finishes this season, and Frank did a heck of a job in his very first World Cup on a new track with a new sled,” Kohn said.

Germany’s Francesco Friedrich claimed his 100th World Cup medal after winning today’s competition with Alexander Schueller with a cumulative time of 1:49.78. Johannes Lochner and Florian Bauer claimed silver for Germany with a total time of 1:50.11, and Canadians Justin Kripps and Cam Stones finished third in 1:50.63.

Racing continues tomorrow with the two-woman bobsled competition at 9 a.m. local time, followed by the four-man bobsled race. Streaming will be available via desktop at olympics.com/en/live/, and via mobile, tablet and connected television platforms on the Olympic Channel app. Check local listings for broadcast times on the Olympic Channel and OlympicChannel.com.

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

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Results

1. Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schueller (GER) 1:49.78 (54.89, 54.89);

2. Johannes Lochner and Florian Bauer (GER) 1:50.11 (54.94, 55.17);

3. Justin Kripps and Cam Stones (CAN) 1:50.63 (55.20, 55.43);

13. Hunter Church and Charlie Volker (USA) 1:51.38 (55.63, 55.75);

15. Frank Del Duca and Hakeem Abdul Saboor (USA) 

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.