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U.S. lugers get silver, bronze in doubles
By Brady Snyder
Deseret News Olympic specialist
The United States is developing a minor dynasty in doubles luge, taking silver and bronze medals in this morning's competition.
With today's hardware, Uncle Sam now owns four of the past six Olympic medals awarded in doubles luge.
Still, they remain in search of that elusive gold, which was taken by the German team of Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch today in an intense competition.
Mark Grimmette, Muskegon, Mich.; and Brian Martin, Palo Alto, Calif.; took the silver edging teammates Chris Thorpe, Marquette, Mich.; and Clay Ives, Lake Placid, N.Y.; by .004 seconds.
The performance matches the American's efficiency in Nagano where Yanks won the first ever luge medals for Uncle Sam, again a silver and bronze.
Grimmette, 31, and Martin, 28, improved on their bronze medal winning performance in 1998, while Thorpe, who won silver four years ago with now retired partner Gordy Sheer, won bronze today with Ives, who earned his first Olympic medal.
Thorpe, 31, and Ives, 29, sporting new speed suits they credit for making them faster, pulled off a significant upset getting to the podium. They seem to have peaked at the right time since before this season's World Cup finale in Winterberg, Germany, they had never medaled in international competition. In Winterberg they took second and now have Olympic bronze.
Grimmette and Martin were in third heading into their final run but produced the fastest run of the second heat to overtake their countrymen by the narrowest of margins.
With the silver guaranteed, Martin and Grimmette waited as Leitner and Resch made their second run. The Germans looked good in the top of the track but bumped the wall near curve 13 and looked like they might finish behind the Americans. When their sled crossed the line, however, they were .134 seconds ahead with a two-run combined time of 1 minute 26.082 seconds. In winning, Leitner and Resch established a new track record in their first run at 42. 953 seconds
The German team of Steffen Skel and Steffen Woller, regarded as one of the world's best, were knocked off the podium by the Americans.
E-MAIL: bsnyder@desnews.com
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February 15, 2002
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