Top six for Hall & Butterworth

Brad Hall began the Olympic season with a wider podium place in the 2-man bobsleigh in Cortina on Saturday afternoon. 

Hall and Olly Butterworth clocked a two-run time of 1 minute 52.49 seconds to finish sixth at the track that will host the Olympic Winter Games in less than three months’ time. 

Butterworth, who stepped into the sled in place of the injured Taylor Lawrence, helped Hall to start times of 4.91 and 4.93 seconds on his GB1 debut.

Hall produced an outstanding drive in Run 1 as he came down as the fastest non-German sled in the heat before slipping down the final standings in a really competitive second lauf.

Germany secured a clean sweep of the medals (just as they did at the last Olympics in Beijing in 2022), with Johannes Lochner taking gold ahead of Francesco Friedrich and Adam Ammour.

South Korea’s Jinsu Kim and America’s Frank Del Duca were the other two seeds to finish above the Brits.

In the women’s monobob earlier in the day, Adele Nicoll finished 25th in a one-run time of 1 minute 1.87 seconds. 

European Champion Laura Nolte won gold for Germany ahead of reigning World Champion Kaysha Love of the United States and Australia’s Bree Walker. 

There is more bobsleigh action on Sunday when Nicoll teams up with Ashleigh Nelson at 8.30am GMT before Hall goes in the 4-man at 12.30pm with Alex Cartagena, Leon Greenwood and Greg Cackett.