Korea's two-man sleighs finish first early heats in middle of the pack

Olympic Sports

Published: 15 Feb. 2022, 00:15 Updated: 15 Feb. 2022, 15:22

Korea's two-man sleighs finish first early heats in middle of the pack

Won Yun-jong and Kim Jin-su launch their sleigh at the start of their run in the first heat of the two-man bobsleigh at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Monday. [AP/YONHAP]

Pilot Won Yun-jong and brakeman Kim Jin-su finished in 16th place after the first two heats of the two-men bobsleigh on Monday at Yanqing National Sliding Centre.

Won and Kim Jin-su finished their first heat in 14th place, with a time of 59.89 seconds, 0.87 seconds behind leaders Francesco Friedrich of Germany. They had a start time of 5.08 seconds, reaching a speed of 133.9 kilometers per hour.

The second heat was slower, with the pair crossing the finish line with a time of 1 minute and 0.28 seconds, 1.01 seconds behind the German team. They had a start time of 5.12 seconds, reaching a speed of 132.8 kilometers per hour. Won’s sled took 17th position in the second heat.

Their total time of 2 minutes and 0.17 seconds put them in 16th place.

Won and Kim Jin-su only partnered up in January this year, after Won’s long-time brakeman Seo Young-woo suffered an ankle injury. Despite their inexperience together, the pair were able to make up for lost time quickly, taking sixth place in the two-man bobsleigh race at the BMW International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup in January.

Won Yun-jong and Kim Jin-su slide down the track during the first heat of the two-man bobsleigh at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Monday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Suk Young-jin and Kim Hyeong-geun slide down the track during the first heat of the two-man bobsleigh at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Monday. [AP/YONHAP]

Won and Kim Jin-su weren’t the only Korean sleds in the race, with pilot Suk Young-jin and brakeman Kim Hyeong-geun finishing in 23rd place after the two heats.

Suk and Kim Hyeong-geun finished the first run in 23rd place with a time of 1 minute and 0.28 seconds, 1.26 seconds behind the leader. Suk’s sled had a start time of 5.15 seconds and their highest speed reached 134.4 kilometers per hour.

Then they had a slighter slower second run, finishing with a time of 1minute and 0.46 seconds, 1.19 seconds behind the leader. Their fastest speed was 133.2 kilometers per hour. Their second run put them in 22nd and their total time of 2 minutes and 0.74 seconds put them in 23rd position overall out of 30 teams.

Bobsleigh made its Olympic debut with the four-man event at the 1924 Winter Olympics. The two-man bobsleigh was added to the program at the 1932 Lake Placid Games.

The two-man bobsleigh race uses an enclosed sleigh with two athletes seated inside, rather than the open sleigh used in skeleton and luge. The sled is pushed and ridden by one pilot and one brakeman, making it more demanding on the individual athletes than the four-man event, which includes one driver, two pushers and a brakeman.

The brakeman is the last person to enter the sled at the start. For the two-men race, the pilot does most of the steering while the brakeman stops the sled after it crosses the finish line by pulling the brake lever.

Both sleds will compete in the third heat of the two-man bobsleigh event on Tuesday evening, with only the top 20 sleds advancing to the fourth medal heat later in the evening.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]