Canada’s Bobsleigh team pulls out of World Cup
Posted Jan 6, 2012 1:02 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canada’s bobsleigh team will not be competing in this weekend’s World Cup in Germany.
This follows a serious crash that saw a sled slamming into the roof of the track during a practice run in Altenberg.
Three Canadian bobsledders were hurt. The pilot of the sled, Chris Spring of Calgary, needed to have a piece of wood removed from his back.
“This is a highly technical track that has a history of crashes,” said head coach of the Canadian Bobsleigh Team Tom De La Hunty. “I reviewed the corner this morning, and the track crew simply replaced the piece of wooden board that was damaged. Repairs to the corner were not enhanced, or done to an acceptable safety standard so there are no guarantees the same thing cannot happen again.”
Canada’s Skeleton Team will remain in the competition.
“This an extremely unfortunate incident that we are taking very seriously,” said Don Wilson, chief executive officer, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton. “The reality is all high-performance sport has a significant element of risk to it and unfortunately sometimes these incidents occur. That being said, we have complete trust and support in Tom and our experienced staff that they are making the proper decisions to ensure the safety of our athletes.”
