UTAH OLYMPIC PARK ? Christoph Langen, Germany's perennial bobsled champion, said Saturday "anything's possible" and that when all the heats were tallied on Sunday he could find himself in first or fifth place.
It turned out to be first.
In a thrilling finish to the Winter Olympics two-man bobsled contest, Langen and brakeman Markus Zimmermann battled Switzerland's Christian Reich and Steve Anderhub, with the Germans pulling off a close win in the last run.
At the finish, Langen repeatedly leaped in the air with arms raised. Then he and Zimmermann walked arm-in-arm along the track, holding their helmets in the air, as delirious fans cheered and screamed.
America's sleds, piloted by Todd Hays of Del Rio, Texas, and Brian Shimer, Naples, Fla., did not fare as well, taking fourth and ninth place, respectively. This leaves the four-man bobsled race later in the week as the last chance to end the 46-year drought in men's bobsled medals.
Two runs on Saturday put Reich ahead of Langen by only 0.01 of a second. After the third run, they were tied. In the final heat, Langen pulled ahead by 0.09 of a second, finishing with a cumulative time of 3:10.11.
Bronze went to another Swiss team, Martin Annen and Hefti Beat. They bested Hays and his brakeman, Garrett Hines of Atlanta, Ga., by a heartbreaking 0.03 of a second.
To the delight of 15,000 spectators, the "Cool Runnings" Jamaican bobsled team proved it truly is Olympian. Winston Alexander Watt and Oneil Lascelles Brown set a track push record, covering the 50 meters of the start in 4.78 seconds. Overall, they finished in 28th place among 37 teams.
During a press conference, Langen said he wished his team and Reich's could have tied for the gold, "they would have deserved that." All of the winners spoke German and a translator relayed their comments.
"It was a superb performance today," Langen said. "We have fought like tigers, and this was certainly a highlight of the whole program here."
Said Reich, "My fourth run was also okay. My start time was really very good, so I can say, here I won silver, I did not lose gold."
"I'm so happy to have won the bronze medal. This was definitely an exciting competition," said Annen.
Hays said he came to the track Sunday believing he and Hines would win bronze. "Pretty shocked that Annen came back the way he did, actually," he said.
Shimer said he hopes for a medal in the four-man race. After that race, the five-time Olympian added, he will retire from the sport.
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