Moose Jaw’s Ben Coakwell is officially on the track, and it’s finally time to take a shot at another Olympic medal.
Coakwell joined driver Justin Kripps and fellow crew members Ryan Sommer and Cam Stones in taking their first training runs at the 2022 Beijing Olympics on Tuesday, setting the stage for what Team Canada hopes will be a medal-winning performance.
And the way things are going, that’ll be a distinct possibility.
Kripps put together a third-place showing in a time of 59.27 seconds in the first training run, finishing 0.18 seconds back of the powerhouse German sleds. Their second run on Tuesday at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre was a touch slower and saw Coakwell and crew finish in fifth, 0.28 seconds back. Germany’s Christoph Hafer finished first in both heats, with teammate Francesco Friedrich hot on his heels.
Teams will have four more training sessions on Wednesday and Thursday before the competition kicks into high gear.
The first run of four-man bobsleigh is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Moose Jaw time on Friday, followed by the second heat at 9:05 p.m. Medals will be handed out on Saturday, with the third run at 7:30 p.m. and final trip down the track at 9:20 p.m.
You can follow all the heats and full replays at www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics.
