Day 10 at Lausanne 2020 was a busy one for Team GB with six sports in action and after four days of official training, the bobsleigh finally got underway in St. Moritz with the women’s monobob competition.
Charlotte Longden lined up for Team GB having only been training in the bobsleigh for a year. The teenager got progressively quicker over her two runs, reaching speeds of 125.4km/h to finish on a combined time of 2:30.20 and 12th place overall – +3.36 seconds off the eventual winner Georgeta Popescu of Romania.
Speaking after her second run Longden was pleased with her performance: “I was happy with how my runs went, the track’s quite fast today so obviously that changes thinking times. I could notice improvements on my second run from my first run so that’s all I can really ask for.
“For me this is just the start, I loved it, I loved this experience and just want to do more.” Longden’s teammate Will Scammell will push off onto the Olympia Bob Run tomorrow in the men’s monobob event.
Sam Bolton became the first ski jumper to represent Team GB in any Olympic event since Glynn Pedersen at Salt Lake City 2002, as he made his Youth Olympic debut in the men’s individual competition at Les Tuffes Nordic Centre. Bolton scored 199.9 from his two jumps to secure 18th position – a strong finish in a field of 37.
It was a successful day’s work for Team GB’s curlers Robyn Mitchell and Ross Craik in the mixed country pairs, as they joined teammate Jamie Rankin in the last 24 of the competition. Mitchell and her partner Frantisek Jiral of Czech Republic started the morning session off in great fashion, securing an 8-5 victory against Benny Kapp (GER) and Sara Rigler (SLO).
Later in the day, Craik, who skipped Team GB during the mixed team event earlier in the week, also confirmed his pathway through to the next round with Danish playing partner, Natalie Wiksten, following an 8-6 triumph over Romet Maeesalu (EST) and Momoha Tabata (JPN). All three British athletes are back in action tomorrow, as the round of 24 gets underway at the Champéry Curling Arena.
Ski cross athlete Scott Johns was in action at a blustery Villars resort and despite impressive skiing in the heats with one first place, three seconds and a third, Johns wasn’t able to progress to the semi-final stages of an extremely competitive field.
Cross-country skiers, Molly Jefferies and James Slimon were back in action in the women’s and men’s sprint free competition, with the pair finishing 48th and 63rd respectively – both above their seeded bib numbers. One final event remains for the duo, as they both tackle their preferred event on Tuesday – the cross-country classic.
High winds at the Leysin Park and Pipe Centre caused the men’s slopestyle event to be postponed, so Jasper Klein will have to wait until tomorrow for his Youth Olympic debut.
Results:
Bobsleigh – women’s monobob:
- Charlotte Longden – 12th
Cross-country skiing – sprint free:
- Molly Jefferies – 48th
- James Slimon – 63rd
Curling:
- Robyn Munro/Frantisek Jiral (CZE) won 8-5 versus Benny Kapp (GER)/Sara Rigler (SLO)
- Ross Craik/Natalie Wiksten (DEN) won 8-6 versus Romet Maeesalu (EST)/Momoha Tabata (JPN)
Freestyle skiing – men’s ski cross:
- Scott Johns -11th
Freestyle skiing – men’s slopestyle:
- Jasper Klein – Event postponed to 20.01.20 due to weather
Ski jumping:
- Sam Bolton: 18th
