Skeleton rider whistles to world cup second
Gregor Stähli of Switzerland has come second in a world cup skeleton race at the Canadian resort of Whistler.
Despite badly biting his tongue in practice and not knowing until eight hours before the start whether he would race, Stähli finished the course in one minute, 48.06 seconds. Canadian Jon Montgomery finished 0.53 seconds ahead.
“I was fresh because I had to pause regularly during the training sessions,” said Stähli, who in practice had turned over twice and experienced one bad crash.
The race in Whistler was the first warm-up for top-level riders leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics, which will take place between February 12 and 28 in Vancouver and Whistler.
Skeleton competitors drive a one-person sled in a prone, head-first position. This differs from the luge, where the riders drive their sleds feet-first and on their backs.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.