America's skeleton racers are off to a fine start in the 2002-03 World Cup season, while bobsledders are not doing as well.
In the competition Saturday at the Utah Olympic Park near Park City, three U.S. women and four men finished in the top 10 of their respective races.
Men's World Cup races were not scheduled for the Utah this year, with Calgary, Canada, and Lake Placid, N.Y., the focus of competition in this hemisphere. Two women's World Cup races were held at Park City over the weekend, however, and newcomer Erin Pac of Farmington is doing well.
Tristan Gale, the Salt Laker who brought home the gold in women's skeleton in the 2002 Winter Olympics, "finally got the monkey off her back" with her first World Cup win, said Tom LaDue of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.
In two heats, Gale finished with a combined time of 1:41.83, which was 0.05 of a second ahead of Canadian Lindsay Alcock. Third place went to Michelle Kelly of Canada.
Other American women finishing in the top 10 were Katie Koczynski of Nyack, N.Y., in seventh, and Felicia Canfield of Kaysville, 10th.
Canfield's husband, Brady Canfield, finished fifth in the men's division, the highest-ranking American.
First place went to Jeff Pain, Canada; silver, Martin Rettl, Austria, who also won the silver in the 2002 Games. Third was Kazuhiro Koshi, Japan.
Other Americans finishing in the top 10 were Chris Soule, Trumbull, Conn., sixth; Zach Lund, Salt Lake City, eighth; and Kevin Ellis, Dallas, 10th.
"It was a great day, from Brady having his best finish ever to Tristan silencing all her critics," said head coach Tim Nardiello. "This team is a team that is going to go places and make a name for itself."
The next stop is Lake Placid, Tuesday through Friday.
After two World Cup events, the United States is third overall, behind Canada and Germany. Four races remain in the season. In individual points, Gale is second to Alcock.
For men, America trails only Canada. Top-ranked American is Soul, sixth overall.
America's women bobsledding suffered a loss, when Olympian Jean Racine of Waterford, Mich., dropped out after a back injury.
Racine and Gina Bundy of Ambler, Pa., finished in fourth place Friday in the first of two World Cup races held at the Utah Olympic Park over the weekend. But when Racine aggravated her back and dropped out for Saturday's second race, two Utahns did well.
Shauna Rohbock, Orem, and Erin Pac, Farmington, "stepped up to the plate" and finished in seventh place, noted LaDue.
Germans swept the first three places. Bill Tavares, head coach, said he hopes Racine will be "back for Lake Placid."
America's men bobsled athletes are finding it tough sledding this year. The four-man team headed by Olympic silver medalist Todd Hays of Del Rio, Texas, was in 10th place after two races in Attenburg, Germany, while the country's two-man bobsleds aren't even in the top 10.
E-MAIL: bau@desnews.com