Weinstock, Olsen finish 14th in two-man bobsled at Olympics

By Betsy Helfand Las Vegas Review-Journal

7 years ago

Driver Justin Olsen and Evan Weinstock of the United States compete in their third heat during the two-man bobsled final at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Driver Justin Olsen and Evan Weinstock of the United States finish their fourth heat during the two-man bobsled final at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

U.S. bobsledder Evan Weinstock and his teammate, Justin Olsen, finished 14th overall in the two-man bobsled Monday, Feb. 19, 2018, at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Rick Bowmer/AP, file)

Driver Justin Olsen and Evan Weinstock of the United States starts their third heat during the two-man bobsled final at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Driver Justin Olsen and Evan Weinstock of the United States compete in their third heat during the two-man bobsled final at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Las Vegan Evan Weinstock and Justin Olsen finished 14th in the two-man bobsled event Monday at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. They had sat in 12th place after their first two runs.

Weinstock and Olsen were the top American team in the event. The Canadian team of Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz and German team of Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis tied for the gold medal. Latvians Oskars Melbardis and Janis Strenga won bronze.

“Evan and I knew we only have three years of experience coming into the games against some really good pilots and experienced people,” Olsen told USA Bobsled & Skeleton. “We just knew that we would have to be really perfect if we were going to have a chance, and were we perfect? No. But we really gave everything we had to be as close to perfect as possible. This race will continue to humble people and so will this sport. You might have a down path one year and then come back, and you’re struggling a bit. We don’t walk away from this race upset at all. Evan and I would have liked to have push faster, but it’s not like we made mistakes.”

The fact that the pair were able to compete together was an accomplishment, as Olsen had an emergency appendectomy two weeks ago.

“It seems like this whole season we’ve had a lot of setbacks,” Weinstock told the Associated Press. “I just know his mentality and I know how tough he is, and I knew he wouldn’t let this be a setback for both of us. I was confident in his ability to get back as close as he could to 100 percent, and I think he’s right there.”

Weinstock, who attended Del Sol High School, also will compete in the four-man competition, which begins Feb. 24. Codie Bascue will pilot that team with Weinstock, Steve Langton and Sam McGuffie as the push crew.

Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.