Former Gator Mesler and USA Bobsled In First Place After Day One
Saturday, February 27, 2010 | Track and Field
By: Mark Maloney
For GatorZone.com
If they awarded medals after each bobsled run at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, former Florida track and field athlete Steve Mesler would have two golds in his pocket – or around his neck.
A pusher on the USA I four-man bobsled piloted by Steve Holcomb, Mesler was in the winning sled in each of two runs Friday at the Whistler Sliding Centre.
However, the Florida graduate must make it through two more runs Saturday before he can claim a medal. Total time from the four runs determine the order of finish.
The United States has not won an Olympic four-man bobsled gold medal since 1948 at St. Moritz.
Mesler, an alternate on the 2002 Olympic team and part of Todd Hays' seventh-place team at the 2006 Games, graduated from Florida in 2000. As a Gator, his sport was track and field, his specialty the decathlon.
As a right-side pusher and third man in the sled, the 6-foot-2, 206-pounder's job here is to push like crazy, load quickly and hang on.
Both starts were strong, with emotions in check.
“We don't stand at the top of the hill and say 'this is it, this is the Olympic Games.' That's not gonna get us anywhere,” said Mesler, 31. “It's pretty obvious. We don't need to tell each other. All you've got to do is open your eyes and see the (Olympic) rings everywhere. So we just act as if our goal is to win the race today. That's what we did, so we're going to hope to go out and win the race tomorrow.”
USA I's start time of 4.75 seconds, briefly a track record, ranked second overall on the first run, behind Germany I's 4.73.
USA's second start matched the 4.73, but ranked fourth overall. Germany I again was faster with a track-record 4.70.
USA I reached a top speed of 95 mph, flying through a wet snow on a 33-degree day.
Holcomb, who placed sixth in the two-man competition here that ended Sunday, simply outdrove Germany I's Andre Lange. No easy task, as Lange already bagged the two-man gold here and is the two-time defending champion in the Olympic four-man competition.
USA I finished first first run in a track-record 50.89 seconds, the second in an even faster 50.86. The combined time of 1:41.75 leads Canada I by 0.40 seconds, with Lange's Germany I another four-hundredths back. The next-best American sled, Mike Kohn's USA III, is in 12th place, 1.36 seconds behind USA I.
“I'm going to sleep well,” Mesler said. “When you go to bed the night before (the first runs), you're not sure if you're going to be fast, you're not sure how it's going to go. You feel like you are.
“We know we're fast on this track now. We know we can start. We know 'Holcy's' driving. We know the equipment's running. So we can go to bed knowing all we have to do now is come out and do our job.”
Others may not sleep as well. Six of 25 sleds crashed – three on the first run and three on the second. USA II, driven by John Napier, turned over on the second run but slid across the finish line to put the team in 17th place.
Four sleds withdrew earlier in the week. Three of those were because of injuries suffered in crashes either in the two-man competition or four-man practices. A Dutch team dropped out because Edwin van Calker said he wasn't confident in his driving ability on the track.
Two weeks earlier, a luger from the country of Georgia was killed on the same track.
Mesler, who came to the Gators from Buffalo but has resided for the last seven years in Calgary, respects the track. He does not fear it, though.
“No, because we're having good trips. We see those but Holcomb still has that same feel and it's not going to change just watching other people crash.”
Between Holcomb and Mesler, in the No. 2 spot, is Justin Olsen of San Antonio. The brakeman and last in the sled is Curt Tomasevicz of Shelby, Neb.
“We're right where we want to be,” Holcomb said. “We had a great day today and we'll have another great day tomorrow.
“It's not over yet. We've got another race ahead of us. This is basically like halftime.”
END OF REPORT
