LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Steven Holcomb took “The Night Train” to the top of the podium at the bobsled world championships Sunday, lifting the weight of a 50-year drought from the U.S. men’s team.
Holcomb was the class of the field on all four runs of the four- man competition and piloted the USA-1 sled painted flat black to the gold medal.
It was the first triumph for the United States in four-man at the world championships since Arthur Tyler won at St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 1959.
“I can’t believe, finally, after 50 years we got it done,” Holcomb said. “We were definitely the team to beat today. It all came together.”
Holcomb finished with a four- run time of 3 minutes, 36.61 seconds to beat defending champion Andre Lange of Germany by 0.97 of a second.
U.S. to help fund HGH test
MANASSAS, Va. — The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has agreed to fund research by a Virginia-based lab seeking a urine-based test for human growth hormone.
The deal with Ceres Nanosciences will use technology developed at George Mason University that could make it possible to detect HGH in urine.
HGH is considered one of the toughest performance-enhancing substances to catch because, to this point, it is only detectable through blood tests. Even then, the window of time to detect it is so short it’s nearly impossible to catch cheaters during competition.
Urine tests are much cheaper than blood tests. But less than 0.01 percent of growth hormone ends up in the urine at any one time, which is not considered enough to detect its presence.
Footnotes.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Midshipman injured his left front leg and will miss the Kentucky Derby and the rest of the Triple Crown races. It is hoped that Midshipman could return to racing for the second half of the year.
• Mardy Fish became the first top seed in the 17-year history of the Delray Beach (Fla.) International Tennis Championships to win the title, beating Russian qualifier Evgeny Korolev 7-5, 6-3.
• Police in Fayetteville, Ark., arrested Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, 20, on a public intoxication charge early Sunday outside a nightspot near campus. Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino said Mallett would be disciplined.
• Nebraska tight end Ben Cotton, 19, was cited for alcohol possession and other violations after campus police were alerted to an argument at a residence hall. An incident report indicated Cotton’s blood-alcohol content was 0.85.
• Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby missed his third straight game Sunday because of a groin injury.
• Stars center Steve Ott was suspended indefinitely by the NHL after he received a penalty for attempting to injure Anaheim’s Travis Moen on Saturday.
• The Oklahoma City Thunder has agreed to release veteran forward Joe Smith, setting the stage for him to sign with an NBA contender such as the Cleveland Cavaliers.
