One of Humboldt's own has claimed a World Cup title in the bobsleigh.
Canada's two-man bobsleigh team of Lyndon Rush, who hails from Humboldt, and Jesse Lumsden, captured the overall World Cup two-man bobsleigh title on February 16 in Sochi, Russia, the site of next year's Winter Olympic Games. It was the first time the pair had tested out the track competitively.
The pair managed the win despite tying for fourth with a two-run time of one minute, 54.41 seconds.
"I have always really wanted to win an overall title, and this feels great," the 32-year-old Rush said in a press release. "Big thanks to Jesse and Lascelles [Brown] for the great starts and to all the members of the team that worked so hard for this all year.
"The Sochi track is awesome. Everything about it is big and impressive. It is by far the nicest facility on tour."
This is Rush's first overall title, - he racked up two World Cup victories and four podium finishes in the process. He teamed up with Lumsden and Brown, two of the most powerful brakemen in the sport.
Rush and Lumsden have six career World Cup medals together, including three victories, in addition to sliding to the silver medal at last year's World Championships.
"It is a great way to finish off the two-man season. It truly was a team effort this year," said Lumsden. "Lascelles and I both pushed Team Rush onto the podium, and Lyndon was awesome navigating the tracks. I am very proud of what we accomplished."
Switzerland's Beat Hefti and Thomas Lamparter won the two-man race with a time of 1:53.76. Germany's Thomas Florschuetz and Andreas Bredau were 0.30 back to capture silver, while Latvia's Oskars Melbardis and Daumants Dreiskens slid to the bronze (1:54.16).
Brown and fellow-Calgarian Chris Spring earned a solid sixth-place finish. Justin Kripps, of Summerland, B.C., and Edmonton's Neville Wright were 18th.
