PARK CITY, UTAH – Canada’s Helen Upperton slid into a familiar position, but after acquiring a taste of the podium it is one she is no longer comfortable with, at the FIBT Viessmann Bobsleigh World Cup in Park City, Utah on Friday.
The 28-year-old Calgary native joined up with Olympic teammate, Heather Moyse of Summerside, P.E.I., to finish fourth after blazing down the frigid 1,340-metre track in a combined time of one minute 39.60 seconds.
Upperton drove to five, fourth-place finishes on the World Cup circuit last season where she finished fourth overall, and also finished fourth at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. “You don’t even understand how badly we’re tired of fourth place,” said Upperton following her second World Cup victory at the season-opener one week ago in Calgary.
Upperton teamed up with Moyse, who returned for her first World Cup race in Utah on Friday after taking a year off from the sport to complete her master’s degree in occupational therapy. During the Olympic year, the duo shattered numerous records en route to the most successful World Cup campaign ever staged by a Canadian sled in women’s competition, racking up one gold, one bronze and two silver medals in the process.
“The goal is to always push as good as you can and drive as good as you can, but you’ve got to try and keep building competitive equipment to keep up with the Germans and Americans,” said Upperton, who continues to adjust to a new sled.
