US bobsledder Kris Horn survived a frightening moment in Switzerland on Sunday after his three teammates failed to make it into their four-man sled at the start of a World Cup race.
Horn, the driver, got in first on the track in St. Moritz, as is common in bobsled. But his three teammates – Ryan Rager, Hunter Powell and Caleb Furnell – all had trouble doing so, leaving him to navigate the course with no other weight in the sled and nobody to pull the brakes at the bottom.
Rager appeared to be the first to stumble, and the domino effect took over from there. Powell then appeared to get thrown somewhat violently toward the track wall, hitting his back on the hardpacked icy surface after he couldn’t get into the sled, and Furnell couldn’t make his way into his spot either.
None of the US sliders suffered serious injuries after failing to get into the sled and all X-rays taken came back negative, the team said.
‘A little sore,’ Powell said after the mishap. ‘I should be fine in a couple days.’
Without any weight in the sled, Horn basically careened down the track but still reached a speed of around 75 mph (120 kph) during the run that lasted just over a minute.
US bobsledder Kris Horn embarked on a terrifying solo ride when his three teammates failed to get into their four-man sled
Horn had to navigate the course with no other weight in the sled and nobody to pull the brakes
Horn drove the sled across the finish line, then had the presence of mind to scoot toward the back of the sled and pull the brake handles.
Athletes and coaches from several different national teams rushed to the finish line to ensure that Horn was fine as the sled skidded to a stop; some simply shook his hand and nodded their heads in disbelief.
The 31-year-old – whose start in bobsledding was as a brakeman, so he knew what to do – waved to the nearby television cameras to show he was OK.
‘We are fortunate it wasn’t worse,’ USA Bobsled head coach Chris Fogt said in a text message.
It was a rough weekend for Horn, who also crashed out of the two-man World Cup race on Saturday. His brakeman for that race, Carsten Vissering, suffered abrasions and was unable to compete on Sunday in the four-man. Rager took Vissering’s spot on the four-man sled.
There is one World Cup race weekend left before USA Bobsled and Skeleton picks its team for next month’s Milan Cortina Olympics. Horn is expected to be named to the team as one of the men’s bobsled drivers, along with Frank Del Duca.
