Canada's Christine de Bruin starts 2022 Olympic year with World Cup monobob gold
Stony Plain, Alta., native posts track record time of 53.77 in 2nd run
Canadian pilot Christine de Bruin started the 2022 Olympic year with victory.
The Stony Plain, Alta., native claimed gold at the monobob World Cup event in Sigulda, Latvia on Saturday.
De Bruin set a combined time of 1:48.12 in her two runs to go 0.56 seconds faster than Breeana Walker of Australia, who finished second. Russia's Nadezhda Sergeeva completed the podium.
In her second run, de Bruin posted another track record with a time of 53.77. It is her second win of the season after she claimed victory at the last World Cup race of 2021 in Alternberg, Germany on Dec. 18.
WATCH l De Bruin captures monobob gold in Latvia:
"What a crazy week," de Bruin said. "I don't even know where to begin. I was very grateful that I was able to compete and to be able to go down the track for 54 seconds and not have to think about COVID or what's happening with my team."
De Bruin was the lone Canadian woman available to race.
"Today was really about pure enjoyment of bobsledding and it turned into a win which was a bonus," she said.
De Bruin also took the lead in the overall World Cup season standings. Fellow Canadian pilot Cynthia Appiah is second ahead of Laura Nolte.
"This track is a lot of fun and requires your attention the whole time," de Bruin said. "There are a lot of corners where you can end up on your head, and I like the challenge of that."
Canadian duo 4th in two-man race
In the men's two-man Bobsleigh event, Canadian pilot Justin Kripps and brakeman Ryan Sommer finished fourth with a time of 1:39.56.
Rostislav Gaitiukevich and Mikhail Mordasov of Russia won the race with a combined time of 1:39.23, 0.10 seconds faster than the British duo of Brad Hall and Greg Cackett.
Canada's bobsled team was hit by a COVID-19 outbreak earlier this week, with 11 athletes and three coaches in isolation. The team had stayed in Latvia over the holiday break to minimize the travel risks of the virus.
Action continues from Sigulda with the women's two-man bobsleigh event on Sunday, which you can stream live on CBCSports.ca.
You can also catch more bobsleigh action on Road to the Olympic Games, streaming on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, as well as CBC TV (check your local listings).
With files from The Canadian Press
