British Bobsleigh Association
Near miss for Humphries and Johnston as brakes fail
18 February 2006
Day 15: Saturday 18th February
A loss of rythm and a small error on the first lauf - 15th fastest - and a top drawer response in the second - 7th fastest - leaves GB1 in 12th
(Daily Reports courtesy of The Winter Sports Agency)
A stunning second lauf by Lee Johnston (Royal Marines) and Dan Humphries (RAF) - 7th fastest of the second run - ended in near disaster for GB1 tonight in the 2-Man bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics in Turin.
A small mistake in the first lauf by Johnston, (after Humphries had left a set of fresh spike marks on his back during the "load") had cost several places, but a powerful start from the armed forces duo and an immaculate drive from Johnson pulled them right back into contention when the deciding laufs are run on Sunday for the top 10 place they covet .
But there was a twist at the end of the run when the brakes snapped as brakeman Humphries heaved on the levers at over 131kmh. 6ft 4in Humphries weighs in at 17 stones - perfectly built for the two key brakeman roles of propelling the sled to a fast start and braking at the finish with pure upper body strength - with a bit to spare so it would seem. Johnston managed to steer the sled to safety - coming to a halt right at the top of the exit lane
Whereas Johnston is a veteran of 2 previous Olympics, Humphries who is part of the 10/101 Squadron at RAF Brize Norton only took up bobsleigh in 2002. "We've had a few scrapes this year but my heart was in my mouth back there" admitted Humphries, "but Lee kept his head as usual - he's brilliant at keeping in the zone".
The GB team stayed at the track late tonight making what repairs they could before Minichiello and Davies take the sled through final practice for the women's 2-Man early tomorrow, and Humphries and Johnson return tomorrow night to push for a top ten final position.
Earlier, in the girls second training session, Nicola Minichiello was 9th and 10th fastest but is still having problems at the top part of the track. Head Coach Tom De La Hunty hopes to iron these out during the final practice on Sunday.
A stunning second lauf by Lee Johnston (Royal Marines) and Dan Humphries (RAF) - 7th fastest of the second run - ended in near disaster for GB1 tonight in the 2-Man bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics in Turin.
A small mistake in the first lauf by Johnston, (after Humphries had left a set of fresh spike marks on his back during the "load") had cost several places, but a powerful start from the armed forces duo and an immaculate drive from Johnson pulled them right back into contention when the deciding laufs are run on Sunday for the top 10 place they covet .
But there was a twist at the end of the run when the brakes snapped as brakeman Humphries heaved on the levers at over 131kmh. 6ft 4in Humphries weighs in at 17 stones - perfectly built for the two key brakeman roles of propelling the sled to a fast start and braking at the finish with pure upper body strength - with a bit to spare so it would seem. Johnston managed to steer the sled to safety - coming to a halt right at the top of the exit lane
Whereas Johnston is a veteran of 2 previous Olympics, Humphries who is part of the 10/101 Squadron at RAF Brize Norton only took up bobsleigh in 2002. "We've had a few scrapes this year but my heart was in my mouth back there" admitted Humphries, "but Lee kept his head as usual - he's brilliant at keeping in the zone".
The GB team stayed at the track late tonight making what repairs they could before Minichiello and Davies take the sled through final practice for the women's 2-Man early tomorrow, and Humphries and Johnson return tomorrow night to push for a top ten final position.
Earlier, in the girls second training session, Nicola Minichiello was 9th and 10th fastest but is still having problems at the top part of the track. Head Coach Tom De La Hunty hopes to iron these out during the final practice on Sunday.