Canada’s top four-man bobsleigh piloted by Justin Kripps appears to be firing on all cylinders after handily winning the gold medal in a final tune-up race on Sunday prior to the start of the World Cup season.
The 27-year-old Olympian captured top spot on the podium in the first race of a four-man double-header at the North America’s Cup race that took place at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park.
Kripps, of Summerland, and his crew of Edmonton’s Bryan Barnett, Saskatoon’s Ben Coakwell, and Tim Randall, of Burlington, Ont., clocked the fastest runs at 54:73 and 54:92 on each of his two blasts down the 14-corner track for a winning time of 1:49.65.
“It was good today. I have some new crew members this year and some are pushing from different spots so we are just continuing to work on our starts together,” said Kripps in a release. “We have a few things to tweak on equipment, but I think we are ready to go now for the World Cup. The goal this year is multiple podiums and to get my first medal in four-man.”
The reigning Canadian champion, who did not compete in the second race Sunday, enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2014 where he won his first World Cup two-man race in Konigssee, Germany just weeks before driving in his first Olympic Games. Kripps also represented Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games where he was a member of Pierre Lueders’ four-man crew.