Smithtown’s John Daly in 18th place in men's skeleton
John Daly of Smithtown brakes in the finish area after competing in the first heat of the men's skeleton competition at the Vancouver Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia. (Feb. 18, 2010) Credit: AP
Halfway through the Olympic men’s skeleton competition, Smithtown’s John Daly is a mere 2.82 seconds out from first place. But, given that his sport would consider a New York Minute to be super slow motion, that is a significant amount of time separating the 24-year-old Long Islander from first-place Martins Dukurs, the reigning world champion from Latvia.
Daly is in 18th place among 28 athletes going into Friday night’s final two (of four) heats at the Whistler Sliding Center. Racing will resume at 9:20 p.m. (New York time). Medalists and final standings will be based on the lowest combined time of the four heats.
Dukurs leads Canada’s Jon Montgomery by .26 of a second and Russia’s Aleksandr Tretiyakov by .84 of a second. The top American is Zach Lund of Salt Lake City, in eighth place, .98 behind Dukurs.
Photos: Smithtown's John Daly at the Olympics
“There was a lot of hype and nervousness and it was nice to get it out of the way,” Daly said in remarks released by the U.S. Skeleton & Bobsled Federation following Thursday night’s first two heats.
“It’s definitely something to get used to. This is awesome. It’s the Olympics and I’m here and I’m happy.”
Daly, an Olympic rookie who spent a brief time on the elite World Cup tour last fall, was in 21st place after his first run, in 53.94 seconds. In the second heat, he was 16th, in 53.84, moving him up to 18th overall. Leader Dukurs’ heat times were 52.32 and 52.59.
“I said before that it was first or last, nothing in between,” Daly said. “And now I can only move up.”
Most Popular
Top Stories
