UTAH OLYMPIC PARK ? The drought is over!
The United States men's bobsled team ended a 46-year Olympic "medal drought" in classy style Saturday, with Todd Hays' crew ? including Ogden's Bill Schuffenhauer ? taking the silver and Brian Shimer's sled winning bronze.
"This is a great way to end . . . a drought," said Garrett Hines, brakeman on the Hays sled. "I'm going to think about this forever."
Shimer turned in the fastest time of the last heat to land his first medal in five Olympics. That fourth run was his last in a quest that began in 1988 at the Calgary Olympics, as Shimer, nearly 40, announced he would retire after this event.
For Todd Hays of Del Rio, Texas, the win must have been bittersweet, as it happened despite losing his brakeman, Pavle Jovanovic, who was banned from the sport for two years after traces of a steroid were found in his system. His replacement was bobsled relative newcomer Schuffenhauer.
Schuffenhauer said his status as a Utahn was especially important to him. He had tried out for the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics in track and field and failed in both attempts.
"To be able to come here and make the Olympic team with Todd Hays and his crew, it's just a blessing," he said.
Andre Lange, Germany, led the gold-medal team. Their time in four runs over two days totaled 3:07.51, which was 0.30 of a second faster than the Hays sled and 0.35 better than Shimer.
As a light snow blew and temperatures hovered just above freezing, Shimer's sled flashed flawlessly down the course. At the finish line, hundreds of fans chanted "USA! USA!" They began screaming when they realized Switzerland's Martin Annen could not better Shimer's time, a failure that guaranteed both American teams would medal.
Celebrations began even before Lange made his run, the last of the day. Members of the U.S. crew embraced spectators. Cameramen stood in the track, filming the wild scene.
Suddenly, 46 years of frustration evaporated. Since 1956, America's male bobsledders had not won a medal in the Winter Olympics, a failure that became infamous as the "medal drought."
Some of the misses were close. At the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994, Shimer was a favorite but he was disqualified because runners were too warm. In the Nagano 1998 Winter Games, he missed a bronze by 0.02 of a second. Since then, he suffered injuries and underwent two knee operations.
Shimer nearly did not make the 2002 Olympic team and was considered a long shot. He announced he would retire after the Salt Lake Games. When he managed to pull off the greatest drive of his life, it seemed a storybook ending to his career.
Another great athlete may have ended his career, according to Germans here. Christoph Langen, who won gold in two-man bobsled a week ago and who had collected a sledload of medals over years of racing, dropped out of the four-man competition after he injured a foot.
Monaco's Prince Albert and his team performed dismally on the first two heats Friday, then rolled their bobsled on the third run the next day. The prince was visibly angered by the accident. The team did not suffer serious injuries and gamely completed the fourth heat, coming in 28th of 29 teams that finished.
After two heats Friday, Hays was in first place by 0.09 of a second. Sharing second were Annen and Lange (an earlier story mistakenly said Annen was second and Lange was third, but they were tied). Shimer was in fifth.
That changed with the finish Saturday, which drove more than 15,000 fans wild with excitement. For the first time in nearly half a century, American men delivered the goods.
"I don't know what brought us down that hill so fast on that last run," Shimer said. "Just the electricity in the air and the fans cheering and just willing us through this."
Team USA-1 was Hays; Randy Jones, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Schuffenhauer; and Hines, of Atlanta, Ga. USA-2 was Shimer, Naples, Fla.; Mike Kohn, Chantilly, Va.; Doug Sharp, Jeffersonville, Ind.; and Dan Steele, Sherrard, Ill.
"Absolutely amazing," said Hays.
He congratulated the other winners. "We knew the Germans were going to be very, very tough."
A touched Shimer said, "I can't think of a better way to end my career than here on American soil. You know, bronze is pretty close to gold, in color."
The only better way to end would have been to beat Hays and pick up the gold, Shimer said. But he added he was "happy and proud. It's a wonderful day for me I'll never forget."
"Brian said he didn't know why we were so fast on that last run, but I can tell you it's because of his driving," Kohn said. "He and Todd probably know more about the sport of bobsled than anyone else that speaks English."
The German sledders spoke through a translator. Annen said, "These were fantastic Games here in Salt Lake City. The organization was superb.
"And of course, I and my team are very proud that we were able to compete here and were able to win."
When Salt Lake City won the Winter Games, Schuffenhauer's friends were excited about seeing him compete. But he told them, " 'Don't you guys know that I do Summer Olympics, not Winter?' I mean, couldn't even picture myself doing any winter sports."
It was "just kind of funny how it all came to pass that I was given this opportunity. And now I'm here. So it's just brilliant and I'm just happy to be here in my home town and my home state."
E-MAIL: bau@desnews.com