U.S. bobsledder Nick Cunningham did not get the home-ice advantage in Lake Placid, N.Y., on Friday. No, he got a hat instead.
Cunningham drove to third place at the season-opening World Cup two-man bobsled race despite running over an errant hat on the track and dragging it to the end of his run. The hat was near the bottom of the track, in corner 19, and was torn and split in half after being taken off one of the sled’s runners, according to U.S. Bobsled.
“You’re looking out for everything, paying attention to the sled, the steering, the brake, the pressures,” Cunningham said in an interview on the podium. “I didn’t think I was going to have to pay attention to stuff in the track, but I ran over a hat. I got myself a new hat now. This is something that will keep me motivated.”
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