PARK CITY, Utah ? Todd Hays, still trying to end 46 years of Olympic failure in U.S. men's bobsled, is in first place after Friday's first two heats in the four-man event.
Hays, a former linebacker at Tulsa, powered the USA-1 sled to a time of 1 minute, 33.26 seconds in front of a rowdy crowd starting to believe that Utah Olympic Park has become a magic mountain for the United States.
The Americans have won gold in the last three events ? women's bobsled and men's and women's skeleton ? on the canyon course.
Hays leads both Switzerland-1 and Germany-2 by .09 seconds entering Saturday's final two heats.
Martin Annen, who won the bronze medal in the two-man race, is right behind Hays. Annen is tied with Germany's Andre Lange for second.
Christoph Langen, who won gold in two-man and is the defending four-man champion from Nagano, injured his heel on the start of the second heat and is in sixth place at 1:33.68.
Langen took his shoe off after leaving the track, quickly put ice on it and was to have his heel examined by doctors. The 39-year-old said if it was too serious he would not race Saturday.
Brian Shimer, appearing in his fifth and final Olympics, piloted USA-2 to a time of 1:33.65 and is in fifth.
The U.S. men haven't won an Olympic medal since 1956, a drought that Hays can end with two clean rides like the ones he had Friday.
With a .06 lead after a first run of 46.65 seconds, Hays guided his red sled with the two bald eagles painted on both sides down the 16-curve track without any problems, finishing in 46.61 seconds ? the fastest run of the day.
Hays just missed a bronze medal in the two-man event, blaming his fourth-place finish on a case of nerves and some erratic driving. He promised to do better in the four-man race, and so far, he has.
"He's just got to put together two good runs," Shimer said, "and those guys aren't going to catch him."
Shimer has a shot at a medal, too.
The 39-year-old, edged out of a bronze in Nagano by .02 seconds in the four-man, got slow starts in both runs. But his experience helped him make up time all the way to the bottom, and he'll enter his final day of competition .30 seconds out of third.
"That's going to be hard to make up," he said. "But there's no use in holding back. It's the last day of my career."
Two sleds, New Zealand-1 and Virgin Islands-1 both crashed on the bottom part of the course and went across the finish line on their sides in the first heat. But both sleds made their second runs.