Summerland bobsleigh athlete Justin Kripps and Bryan Barnett won their second career World Cup medal at the Konigssee track in Germany, earning a bronze medal.
“I had good start times and good runs so everything came together,” Kripps said. “I love Konigssee. I like the flow of the track. There is a great atmosphere here with lots of fans. The music is playing and the track just fits my driving style.”
A year ago, the two captured gold at the same track, weeks before the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
This year, they finished in third place. Their two-run time was 1:42.19.
“I feel confident on all the tracks we race, but I just have a good feeling here,” Kripps said.
“I am able to blast out of those S curves with lots of speed and you need to do that to be successful here.”
The race was a close one. Beat Hefti and Alex Baumann of Switzerland finished first with a time of 1:41.16 while Nico Walther and Marko Huebenbecker took second place with a time of 1:41.68.
In 2010, Kripps was part of Canadian Pierre Lueders’ four-man team, finishing with four World Cup podiums.
This year his goal is to be a medal contender each week on the elite circuit.
“This is one of those years we are working on a number of things, but this is an awesome boost for our program to get a medal,” said Kripps.
“It has been a year since men’s bobsleigh in Canada has been on the podium so this is great for our team.”