Trinidad and Tobago’s four-man bobsled team finished among the medals at the fourth round of the North American Cup in Park City, Utah, US, on December 7.
TT’s quartet of Axel Brown, Thomas Harris, Xaverri Williams and De Aundre John tied for fourth with the Canadian team, earning an extended podium medal, awarded to fourth-sixth-place finishers.
On race day one, December 6, TT clocked a solid 47.98 seconds on the first run, despite Williams having some trouble while loading, as his race suit ripped and caught his hand.
Their second race was pushed back to the next day after an accident in the female race damaged the track ice.
A better push on day two saw TT register 5.01s on their start, which resulted in a 48.17s clocking. After both races, TT totalled one minute and 36.15s.
However, Canada, clocked 47.96s on the first day and 48.19s on the second, also accumulating 1.36.15, tied with TT.
Sliding to the top three positions were USA in first (1.35.46) and second (1.35.72), alongside Brazil (1.35.84) in third.
TT pilot Brown expressed pleasure at the team’s first podium performance this season, and believes the result augurs well for future competitions.
“This result is coming off the back of a few different but exciting things which lead to a promising future,” Brown said. “This year we’ve had vastly more capable athletes than we have spots on the ice. So we’ve been able to implement minimum standards for our selection, which in turn means we’ve been able to select a really strong team of athletes.
“But more than that, we’ve been able to select a team that can work well together. Now that we have a solid group, the results will keep coming the more learn about each other and work towards this common goal.”
TT is now ranked 23rd in the world on the four-man bobsleigh rankings.
Brown added that TT’s Utah clocking would have won gold at the same race two years ago, but teams are currently preparing for the February 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
“Hopefully we can maintain that ranking or better throughout the season, which leaves us in a really strong position going into the Olympic season next year.”
Brown said he plans to develop a women’s, junior men and skeleton team to broaden TT’s representation on the global circuit.
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