Kindl Wins in Whistler

From Whistler, CAN

(Nov. 30, 2018) – Wolfgang Kindl won gold in Whistler, both setting a track record and beating one of the best on the 2010 Olympic track in the process.

Wolfgang Kindl (Courtesy FIL TV)

Kindl led the charge going into the second heat with the fastest time after one run, holding onto a .069 lead over 2010 Olympic champion Felix Loch. On that second run it looked like there might be a chance that Loch would overtake Kindl. Kindl found speed through the bottom few curves, and by the end of his run he was the winner by .099 over Loch.

Reinhard Egger helped put two Austrians on the podium, finishing third just .001 ahead of Russian Semen Pavlichenko.

Igls winner Johannes Ludwig finished fifth, while American Chris Mazdzer finished sixth. The race was Mazdzer’s second of the day, finishing seventh earlier in the evening in the doubles competition with teammate Jayson Terdiman.

American Jonny Gustafson finished a career-best 13th after starting the second heat in the top 10. West rounded out the American effort with a 19th place finish.

For the young Canadian squad, Reid Watts led the way in 22nd, while teammate Matt Riddle finished 25th.

The race was run at a record pace, with 13 men setting times faster than the existing track record, a 50.109 time set by Tucker West in 2016.

Results:

Pos Name Nation Bib Start 1 Start 2 Run 1 Run 2 Total
1 Wolfgang Kindl AUT 31 7.067 7.065 49.837 49.937 1:39.774
2 Felix Loch GER 29 7.012 7.016 49.906 49.967 1:39.873
3 Reinhard Egger AUT 17 6.996 6.997 49.886 50.015 1:39.901
4 Semen Pavlichenko RUS 27 7.022 6.986 49.930 49.972 1:39.902
5 Johannes Ludwig GER 32 6.971 6.955 49.985 49.968 1:39.953
6 Chris Mazdzer USA 24 7.040 7.039 49.987 50.031 1:40.018
7 Chris Eißler GER 14 6.979 6.985 49.928 50.121 1:40.049
8 Dominik Fischnaller ITA 30 7.008 7.006 49.981 50.080 1:40.061
9 Sebastian Bley GER 13 7.022 7.002 50.021 50.136 1:40.157
10 David Gleirscher AUT 28 7.031 7.020 50.088 50.114 1:40.202
11 Armin Frauscher AUT 18 6.988 7.007 50.034 50.186 1:40.220
12 Aleksandr Gorbatcevich RUS 16 7.015 7.034 50.217 50.013 1:40.230
13 Jonathan Gustafson USA 12 6.988 7.012 50.015 50.254 1:40.269
14 Kevin Fischnaller ITA 26 7.054 7.035 50.132 50.192 1:40.324
15 Maksim Aravin RUS 21 7.124 7.126 50.203 50.176 1:40.379
16 Nico Gleirscher AUT 7 7.018 7.034 50.110 50.355 1:40.465
17 Kristers Aparjods LAT 22 7.046 7.058 50.179 50.297 1:40.476
18 Stepan Fedorov RUS 23 7.037 7.035 50.188 50.312 1:40.500
19 Tucker West USA 19 7.005 7.057 50.046 50.502 1:40.548
20 Inars Kivlenieks LAT 25 7.021 7.040 50.375 50.277 1:40.652
21 Danil Lebedev RUS 8 7.096 7.104 50.192 50.656 1:40.848
22 Reid Watts CAN 15 7.057 7.124 50.175 50.684 1:40.859
23 Andriy Mandziy UKR 11 7.111 7.073 50.462 50.398 1:40.860
24 Jozef Ninis SVK 20 7.101 7.148 50.663 50.219 1:40.882
25 Matthew Riddle CAN 4 7.167 7.179 50.532 50.602 1:41.134
26 Maciej Kurowski POL 5 7.124 7.158 50.587 50.643 1:41.230
27 Aleksander Melaas NOR 2 7.245 7.251 50.624 50.845 1:41.469
28 Theodor Turea ROU 1 7.089 7.079 50.620 51.322 1:41.942
29 Anton Dukach UKR 9 7.087 7.089 50.387 51.638 1:42.025
30 Fabian Malleier ITA 3 7.109 7.121 50.430 52.083 1:42.513
31 Riks Rozitis LAT 10 7.262 7.150 51.750 50.822 1:42.572
32 Valentin Cretu ROU 6 7.045 7.044 50.507 52.668 1:43.175