Dukurs slides to World Cup skeleton title

PARK CITY — Martins Dukurs said there is only one thing he thinks of when he's on the skeleton track.

"I just go down and slide," he said.

And even though he was leading after the first round, he felt he could do even better on his second trip.

"I fixed some problems," he said of the second run, which helped him win the Skeleton World Cup in Park City Thursday with a combined time of 1:39.75. The women's race was cut short because of a severe snowstorm that not only made the track bumpy but seriously impaired visibility.

Officials decided to determine the event's winner based on the competitor's first run. The decision was made just after Orem native and Mountain View High alum Noelle Pikus-Pace completed her second trip down the 2002 Olympic track.

"It was a winter wonderland," said Pikus-Pace, who was the eighth athlete of 20 to complete a second run. "I was dodging snowballs out there. I didn't know it would be an obstacle course."

Dukurs, from Latvia, won the men's event by sliding more than a half second faster than the second-place finisher, Germany's Sandro Stielicke (1:40.27). In third place was Great Britain's Kristan Bromley (1:40.37). The top American finisher was Zach Lund, who was competing with a hamstring injury. His combined time of 1:40.57 was just a bit better than teammate Eric Bernotas' sixth-place time of 1:40.63.

"I can't push it 100 percent," said Lund, who narrowly missed qualifying for the 2002 team and wasn't eligible in 2006. "It is what it is. I had to change my thinking for this year. The key is to qualify for the Olympics."

Lund said he hasn't been able to train at all.

"Mentally it's be very hard," said the Salt Lake native, who was greeted by a former teacher from Judge Memorial Catholic High School at the finish. "I've been very cautious and I'm just trying to make sure I am ready for the World Cup season."

Competing in his first World Cup race, John Daly earned a time of 1:41.25, good enough for 14th place. He was nervous about his first World Cup race - which is not always a bad thing.

"I was way nervous on the first run," said Daly, who qualified for the U.S. Skeleton team just a few weeks ago on the same track. "The more nervous I am, the faster I push."

The 24-year-old said he was trying to learn what he could while competing with the world's best.

"I feel like I belong here now," said Daly. "I am just trying to learn and stay on the older guys' tails. You can tell yourself (that you're good enough to compete at the World Cup level) all you want, but until it actually happens, you're not sure."

Daly's parents were able to watch the race, something his mother wasn't planning on until recently.