“The weather played a small factor in the races, as there were intermittent snow showers,” U.S. skeleton team assistant coach Greg Sands said. “It lightened up just enough a few sleds before Zach and Eric and they both put two solid heats together despite the weather.”

In his first run, Bernotas crossed the finish line with a time of 54.74, breaking the Nagano track record. Only 0.07 behind was Adam Pengilly from Great Britain with a time of 54.81. Lund finished his first run in third with a time of 54.89 seconds.  Two-tenths of a second separated the top four competitors, leading to a tight race for the podium in the second heat.

U.S. competitors Chris Hedquist (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Caleb Smith (Lake Placid, N.Y.) had first run times of 55.34 and 55.53 respectively, placing them in ninth and 11th after the first heat.

“There was heavier snow fall for about ten minutes during the race,” Sands said. “Caleb and Chris took their runs during that time, so they were affected by the snow.”

Japanese slider Masaru Inada slid the fastest run of the second heat with a 55.44, moving him up seven places in the standings from his first heat position of tenth into third.  Inada’s improved second heat wasn’t enough to catch the Americans Lund and Bernotas.  Lund finished with a combined time of 1:50.96 to claim the silver, while Bernotas finished with a total 1:50.64 to take the gold medal.

Hedquist maintained his ninth position, finishing with a combined time of 1:51.65 (55.34, 56.31).  Struggling with the snow in his second heat, Smith finished in thirteenth position with a total time of 1:52.09 (55.52, 56.57).

“Our goal was to come to Nagano and have a great performance so that we could relax a bit next week in Igls,” said Sands. “Once again, it was a strong showing for team USA.”

After today’s results, Bernotas has moved into second overall World Cup standings, while Lund continues to lead.

The team will travel to Igls, Austria tomorrow for the next stop on the World Cup tour.

For complete results of today’s race, please visit www.bobsleigh.com, the Web site of the Fédération International de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganning (FIBT).

Results:

1. Eric Bernotas (USA) 1:50.64 (54.74, 55.90); 2. Zach Lund (USA) 1:50.96 (54.89, 56.07); 3. Masaru Inada (JPN) 1:51.04 (55.44, 55.60); 4. Anthony Sawyer (GBR) 1:51.10 (54.94, 56.16); 5. Adam Pengilly (GBR) 1:51.24 (54.81, 56.43); 6. Kazuhiro Koshi (JPN) 1:51.26 (54.99, 56.27);…9. Chris Hedquist (USA) 1:51.65 (55.34, 56.31);…13. Caleb Smith (USA) 1:52.09 (55.52, 56.57);