Melrose's Langton Wins Bobsled World Championship

Courtesy of Amanda Bird of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.

Steve Langton of Melrose and Steven Holcomb of Park City, Utah claimed the first two-man bobsled World Championship title ever for the U.S. in the 2012 contest for the crown. All three U.S. teams entered into the competition posted top nine finishes to cap a successful two-man season for the program.

“It feels phenomenal to be World Champion,” Holcomb said. “You know, we won the World Championships here in 2009 and it was great, but this is my first two-man title. I think that the hard work we put in during the off-season and all the work we’ve put in this season has really paid off.”

Holcomb started making history when he won the first four-man bobsled title in 50 years for the U.S. during the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, and then again made history by earning the first Olympic gold medal for the program in 62 years in 2010. His string of record-breaking runs continued today with world push champion Langton pushing him along.

“It is going to take awhile to sink in,” Holcomb said. “I am just really proud of my team.” 

Langton has had a bumpy rise to the top. He emerged as one of the best athletes in the world when he started the sport five years ago, but several injuries kept him from making a run for USA-1. Langton burst back onto the scene last season to claim the world push championship title, and now he’s added world champion to his growing sliding resume.

“It feels pretty fantastic,” Langton said. “I have had some success, but to come out here and win my first big championship is pretty amazing. The feeling is really indescribable; it honestly really hasn't sunk in yet. Steve did a really great job and our support staff couldn't be better. The U.S. Olympic Committee Sports Medicine staff, my strength coach Jason Hartman, and my teammates Justin and Curt and the rest of the U.S. team have just been really unbelievable, and they are a big part of this win.”

The last two-man bobsled World Championship medal for the U.S. was bronze earned by Holcomb and Curt Tomasevicz in the 2009. Before that, Brian Shimer claimed bronze in 1997, and the most recent best effort for the program was a silver medal claimed by Garry Sheffield and Jerry Tennant in 1961.

The stands were vibrating as fans and family members cheered on USA-1 at the start with cowbells and horns. Holcomb and Langton blasted the Under Armour sled off the block in 5.07 seconds to lead the field from start to finish in the third heat. The crew started finals 0.12 seconds behind Canadians Lyndon Rush and Jesse Lumsden, but Holcomb and Langton made up 0.32 seconds in the third run to take the lead.

Even with history on the line, Holcomb and Langton were relaxed before the final run. Langton posted, “#overthetop,” while Holcomb typed that he was “very happy with my first run, but the race isn’t over” on Twitter. 

The crew stepped it up with a 5.03 start time and continued to gain time on the Canadians. Teammates cheered as the splits showed USA-1 picking up time, and the Under Armour crew crossed the line 0.46 seconds ahead for the win.  After Holcomb and Langton hoisted the trophy in the air, they stepped off the podium and handed it over to Shimer.

“I drive the sled, Langton pushes it—I mean I help push it—but there are so many other people that go into the little things of the day to day operation of the team,” Holcomb said. “I know I gave Shimer a hard time about being in the garage that late, but he really did spend that much time out there making sure the sleds were perfect. We were in the garage late last night making some adjustments that we thought might help and you saw the first run and it worked out.”

Shimer handed the trophy back to Holcomb and looked bewildered to be a part of yet another historic moment in a sport he’s been involved with for over 25 years.

“I can’t say enough about Holcomb, he is just unbelievable,” Shimer said. “He is such a talented pilot and anything you throw at him he just seems to get down the hill quickly. This is just a really great moment for USA bobsled. A little more history being made.”

Holcomb and Langton’s historic title was won with a total time of 3:42.88. Rush and Lumsden earned silver with a four-run combined time of 3:43.34, while Germans Maximilian Arndt and Kevin Kuske clocked an aggregate time of 3:43.43 for bronze.