Won and Kim finish in 19th place after sloppy final run

Won Yun-jong and Kim Jin-su compete in the two-man bobsleigh event at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre in Beijing on Tuesday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Won Yun-jong and Kim Jin-su finished the men's two-man bobsleigh in 19th place with a combined time of 4 minutes and 1.24 seconds at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre in Beijing on Tuesday.

The duo entered the final day of the competition in 17th place after the first two runs on Monday. A time of 1 minute and 0.1 seconds on their third run pushed Won and Kim Jin-su up to 14th place, but a sloppy fourth run with a time of 1 minute and 0.97 seconds dropped them down to 19th place.

The Korean pair finished 4.35 seconds behind Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis of Germany in first place. The silver and bronze medals also went to German sleighs, giving the country a rare podium sweep.

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.

The second Korean sleigh of Suk Young-jin and Kim Hyeong-geun finished the third heat in 24th place with a combined time of 3 minutes and 1.26 seconds. The duo did not race in the fourth heat as only the top 20 sleighs advance.

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.

All four Korean athletes will return to the track over the weekend for the final bobsleigh races of the Beijing Games in the four-man event. Won will pilot one sleigh alongside Kim Jin-su, Jung Hyun-woo and Kim Dong-hyun, while Suk will pilot a second sleigh with Kim Hyeong-geun, Kim Tae-yang and Jang Ki-kun.

The first heat of the four-man event will start at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]