Canadian bobsled piloted by Justin Kripps crashes during Winter Games heat

By: The Canadian Press Posted: 12:41 PM CST Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014 Last Modified: 3:52 PM CST Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014

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KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia - Members of the Canada 3 sled escaped serious injury Saturday after a crash during the second run of the four-man bobsled competition at the Sochi Olympics.

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KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia - Members of the Canada 3 sled escaped serious injury Saturday after a crash during the second run of the four-man bobsled competition at the Sochi Olympics.

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KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia – Members of the Canada 3 sled escaped serious injury Saturday after a crash during the second run of the four-man bobsled competition at the Sochi Olympics.

The sled piloted by Justin Kripps tipped over as it went into a corner and slid down the Sanki Sliding Center track on its side. Kripps, Jesse Lumsden, Cody Sorensen and Ben Coakwell all appeared to be OK, walking away from the sled on their own.

“They’re all fine, they’re being looked at by the doctors as we speak and I don’t anticipate any problems,” said coach Tom De La Hunty. “Whether the entire crew is racing again(Sunday) remains to be seen.

The team from Canada CAN-3, with Justin Kripps, Jesse Lumsden, Cody Sorensen and Ben Coakwell, slide down the track upside down after crashing in turn sixteen during the men's four-man bobsled competition at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

“I’m sure they are all going to be okay but if there is any chance of any bumps and bruises then we might just as well replace them with the two spares and give them a go.”

De La Hunty was at a loss to explain what happened.

“They got into corner 14 too early,” he said. “The nose of the sled got pushed away as it’s angling away from the corner, the momentum going into the corner was too much and it just rolled straight into the corner.

“It’s just one of those things. You come out of corner 11 just slightly wrong. You tap on the left hand side and it pushes you across to the 14.”

Canadian team officials switched lineups earlier in the week to give Kripps the most powerful crew. Spring still raced in the Canada 1 sled.

Canada 3 was in eighth place after the first heat and was on pace for a strong second run before the crash.

Since the sled passed the finish line, Kripps will be able to start again Sunday although he likely won’t make the 20-sled cutoff for the fourth and final heat.

Lyndon Rush and the Canada 2 sled sat in 10th place with a two-run time of one minute 50.78 seconds. Spring finished tied for 13th in 1:51.20 and Kripps was last in the 30-sled field in 1:55.08.