Mapp wins European Championship silver
Corie Mapp won para bobsleigh European Championship silver in Igls on Friday.
Mapp collected the 34th top tier medal of his outstanding eight-year career with a superb performance in Austria.
He clocked a two-run time of 1 minute 54.14 seconds to finish 0.35 seconds behind Latvian race winner Arturs Klots and 0.03 seconds in front of Germany’s Johann Nikolai.
The 44-year-old finished 10th in the first of two back-to-back races at the same track just 24 hours earlier but, with today’s competition doubling as the continental championships, Mapp performed when it mattered most to make the European podium for the sixth time.
“I’m really, really proud to win a medal here,” said Mapp, who served in the British Army prior to a double leg amputation following a tour of Afghanistan in 2010.
I’m always proud to win a medal for my country - it’s a special feeling,
“I’m extremely happy with the improvement I made from yesterday because yesterday wasn’t my best day on a bobsleigh track. Everyone around me knew I could do better so I was really happy to come through and medal today.”
Today’s result means Mapp sits third in the overall world rankings and just four points shy of American Robert Balk in second with two World Cup races to come in Lillehammer, Norway in early February.
His immediate focus is next week’s World Championships, though, when para bobsleigh takes place on the same stage as the able bodied competitions in St Moritz, Switzerland.
Mapp races this coming Thursday and Friday from 8am GMT on both days as he chases another massive milestone.
“It’s a huge confidence boost ging into the Worlds. That’s the one competition I haven’t won yet,” added Mapp.
I’ve won the overall World Cup, I’ve won the European Championships and I’ve consistently medalled in World Cup races, but the World Champs is the one that’s eluded me.
“I’m really looking forward to next week. It’s a big challenge but St Moritz is my favourite track ,so let’s go get it!”
