Music: {allcanada} MACHATA TAKES GOLD, LEADS GERMAN DOUBLE IN 4-MAN BOBSLED AT WC

Sunday, February 27, 2011

{allcanada} MACHATA TAKES GOLD, LEADS GERMAN DOUBLE IN 4-MAN BOBSLED AT WC

KOENIGSSEE, Germany -- Manuel Machata added a world championship gold medal to his overall World Cup title by winning the four-man bobsled race on Sunday.

Machata's Germany 1 team protected its overnight lead to finish the four runs in a combined time of three minutes 16.58 seconds. Karl Angerer's Germany 2 was second, 0.52 seconds back, while Olympic champion Steven Holcomb finished third in USA 1, 0.68 seconds back.

Canada 1 was sixth in 3:17.51. Pilot Lyndon Rush of Humboldt, Sask., was joined in the sled by David Bissett and Neville Wright of Edmonton and Ottawa's Cody Sorenson.

Machata also won the overall World Cup and the European Championship title in his debut season.

The 26-year-old Machata said that "now we'll celebrate. We'll see how many hours I can last."

Fourth place was shared by Alexsandr Zubkov in Russia 1 and Maximilian Arndt in Germany 4, both 0.87 seconds back. Lyndon Rush in Canada 1 was sixth, 0.93 seconds back.