Photo credit: IBSF / Viesturs Lacis

ST MORITZ, Switzerland (January 16, 2022) – Hunter Church (Cadyville, N.Y.) teamed up with Josh Williamson (Lake Mary, Fla.), Charlie Volker (Fair Haven, N.J.), and Kris Horn (Pembroke, Mass.) for 13th place in the four-man bobsled World Cup finale in St. Moritz today. Frank Del Duca (Bethel, Maine), Hakeem Abdul Saboor (Powhatan, Va.), Kyle Wilcox (Tampa, Fla.) and Carlo Valdes (Newport Beach, Calif.) put together an impressive 15th place result in Del Duca’s first race as a driver on the Swiss track.

“This is the time to really come together as a unit to reach our ultimate goal,” said Curt Tomasevicz, USA Bobsled/Skeleton Director of Sport Performance. “I’m proud of the great effort these guys have made.”

Church, Williamson, Horn and Volker powered the Under Armour branded sled off the block in a record-breaking 5.02 seconds for the fastest start time of the field in both heats.

“With the World Cup season winding down, it is great to see the athletes peaking and having their best pushes of the year,” Tomasevicz said. “They’ve worked incredibly hard.”

Church, still green to the European tracks, piloted the crew to the finish in 1:05.15 to place them in 11th position going into the finale. Church had difficulty finding speed in the second heat, crossing the finish line with the 15th ranked downtime of 1:05.47. The Americans dropped two spots, tying team Austin Taylor from Canada for 13th place with a combined time of 2:10.89.

Del Duca, Abdul Saboor, Valdes and Wilcox posted a start time of 5.07 seconds in both heats, which were the fifth and sixth ranked pushes of the field. Del Duca piloted the crew to the finish in 1:05.54 and 1:05.25, 19th and 14th best of the field. The team spent some time in the leader’s box as they moved up four spots in the final heat into 15th place with a two-run total of 2:10.89.

Oskars Kibermanis, Davis Springis, Matiss Minkis and Edgars Nemme from Latvia were the surprise victors today with a combined time of 2:09.38. Germany’s Francesco Friedrich, who won both crystal globes this season, was the first to greet Kibermanis with congratulations at the finish. Friedrich, Martin Grothkopp, Alexander Roediger and Alexander Schueller finished second with a two-run total of 2:09.54. Russians Rostislav, Mikhail Mordasov, Pavel Travkin and Alekse Laptev claimed bronze in 2:09.66.

That’s a wrap for the 2021-2022 World Cup season. The 2022 U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team is expected to be named by 10 am local time tomorrow, and the last stop of the season will be in Beijing, China for the Olympic Winter Games.

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

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Results

1. Kibermanis, Springs, Miknis and Nemme (LAT) 2:09.38 (1:04.69, 1:04.69);

2. Friedrich, Grothkopp, Roediger and Schueller (GER) 2:09.54 (1:04.88, 1:04.66);

3. Gaitiukevich, Mordasov, Travkin and Laptev (RUS) 2:09.66 (1:04.84, 1:04.82);

T-13. Church, Williamson, Horn and Volker (USA) 2:10.62 (1:05.15, 1:05.47);

15. Del Duca, Abdul Saboor, Valdes and Wilcox (USA) 2:10.89 (1:05.54, 1:05.35);

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.

Team Church and team Del Duca finish 13th and 15th, respectively, in final four-man bobsled World Cup race of the season

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