Annen shares second place

Martin Annen and his team achieved good results in the first race of the World Cup in Calgary Keystone Archive

Swiss top bobsleigh driver Martin Annen has come second in the first race of the bobsleigh World Cup season in Calgary, Canada.

The 27-year-old and his team finished at 1″54’56 in the four-man bobsleigh event on Sunday, placing them more than half a second behind the winner, American Todd Hays.

Annen’s good result was partly due to a good start as the team was fastest twice in the first 50 metres.

The crew had to share their second place with Germany’s Olympic champion Christoph Langen, who finished at exactly the same time.

Switzerland’s Christian Reich came fourth. However, the 34-year-old could have achieved better results, had the team got off with a better start.

Reich was pushed out by his compatriots, clocking 1″49’58.

Swiss champion Reto Goetschi did not impress at all in the four-man bobsleigh race. After a bad start the team finished two seconds slower than Hays, which was only enough for 22nd place.

Goetschi will have to fight hard to save his place in the four-man bobsleigh World Cup against his own compatriots.

Two-man race

During the two-man bobsleigh race on Saturday, Goetschi came seventh after Annen, who came fourth, and Reich, who finished fifth.

Annen was unlucky as he just missed the third place by only three hundredths of a second. However, he still finished best Swiss driver.

swissinfo with agencies