“This is a milestone that I never thought that I would achieve,” remarked Benshoof, who passed three-time Olympian Duncan Kennedy, who raced to 21-career international podiums. “When I began sliding, I looked up to sliders like Duncan and never imagined that I would reach, or even pass, that level of success. To be honest with you, when I began, I wondered if I would even be on one podium, I never could have imagined this.”

Despite being the last slider in the first heat and a frosty track, Benshoof raced to a combined time of 1 minute, 48.841 seconds and secured his third consecutive World Cup medal. “This is really a hard track, but I’ve always been fast here,” remarked the 30-year-old. “I really had to fight to get this medal. I had to overcome being the last slider in the first heat and despite the clear skies the track was a little sticky. I just concentrated on what I needed to do and didn’t get caught up in the distractions… it all came together.”

Saturday’s finish allowed the 2002 Olympian to grab a share of first place in the overall World Cup rankings with Russia’s Albert Demtschenko, each has 240 points after three races. Demtschenko kept pace despite finishing fifth. The 34-year-old rebounded from 18th-place following the first run and recorded a second heat, track record time of 54.222 seconds on his way to a combined time of 1:49.523.

Austria’s Markus Kleinheinz raced to his first win of the season, sliding to a two-run time of 1:48.826, just .015 seconds ahead of Benshoof and .442 seconds in front of Germany’s David Moeller, who slid to bronze in 1:49.268.

Last weekend’s World Cup winner, Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler, finished sixth Saturday and sits in second place in the overall rankings with 205 points.