A Bronze Rush for Canada in 4-Man Bobsleigh

WHISTLER, B.C. - Canada has won a bronze medal in the four-man bobsled at the Winter Olympics.

The Canada 1 sled driven by Lyndon Rush of Humboldt, Sask., finished third in a four-run combined time of three minutes 24.85 seconds, missing the silver by just a hundredth of a second.

American Steven Holcomb won the gold in 3:24.46 while two-time defending champion Andre Lange of Germany took the silver in 3:24.84.

Pierre Lueders was fifth in the Canada 2 sled in 3:25.60.

It's the third bobsled medal for Canada at the Vancouver Games after Kaillie Humphries won gold in the women's two-man event and Helen Upperton took the silver.

This is just Canada's second Olympic medal ever in the four-man - the first came at Innsbruck in 1964.

The win was a bit of redemption for Rush. Driving in his first Olympics, he and Lascelles Brown of Calgary were in medal contention in the two-man event last weekend when Rush turned over in the final high-speed loop. They finished 15th.

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The United States' USA-1, with pilot Steven Holcomb, second from left, Steve Mesler, far left, Curtis Tomasevicz and Justin Olsen, far right, celebrate their gold medal finish during the men's four-man bobsled final competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010.(AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

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WHISTLER, BC - FEBRUARY 27: USA 3 complete heat 4 during the men's four man bobsleigh on day 16 of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics at the Whistler Sliding Centre on February 27, 2010 in Whistler, Canada. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mike Kohn;Jamie Moriarty;Bill Schuffenhauer;Nick Cunningham

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Canada's CAN-1 pilot Lyndon Rush, reacts after crossing the finish line and seeing that his team dropped from second to third during the men's four-man bobsled final competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. CAN-1 took the bronze medal. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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The United States' USA-1, Steve Mesler, right, hugs teammate Curtis Tomasevicz after they won the gold during the men's four-man bobsled final competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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The United States' USA-1, with Steven Holcomb, front, Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler, and Curtis Tomasevicz, celebrate their gold medal finish during the men's four-man bobsled final competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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The United States' USA-1, Curtis Tomasevicz, center, celebrates with teammates pilot Steven Holcomb, far right, Steve Mesler, far left, and Justin Olsen, after their gold medal finish during the men's four-man bobsled final competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010.(AP Photo/Michael Sohn)(AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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WHISTLER, BC - FEBRUARY 27: Great Britain 1 complete heat 3 during the men's four man bobsleigh on day 16 of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics at the Whistler Sliding Centre on February 27, 2010 in Whistler, Canada. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** John Jackson;Henry Nwume;Allyn Condon;Dan Money

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Rush and Brown were joined in the four-man by Chris Le Bihan of Kelowna, B.C., and Calgary's David Bissett.

Lueders, driving with brakeman Jesse Lumsden, was fifth in the two-man event. There were joined by Justin Kripps of Summerland, B.C., and Edmonton's Neville Wight in the four-man.

He had won silver in that event in Turin, with Brown on the brakes, four years ago, and won gold in Nagano in 1998.

There were no crashes in the final two heats Saturday, unlike the first two heats, run in rain and snow on Friday.

Six sleds turned over Friday, all at the same high-speed, sharp-right turn at curve 13 near the bottom of the course known as "50-50." Holcomb gave it that name two years ago as a bit of black humour to reflect the odds of getting through it right-side up.

There were a number of crashes in training and five teams pulled out early due to injuries or safety concerns

The 29-year-old Rush has said he's considering hanging up his spikes after the Games. While he said he loves the sport, his first duty is to his wife and two young girls.

Lueders has not said if this is his last Olympics, but time is no longer on his side. He would be 43 for the Sochi Games in 2014 and his sliding results are clearly on the decline.
He won 10 medals on the World Cup circuit after the Turin Games, won seven the following year, then three, then zero this year in the run-up to Vancouver.