Trinidad and Tobago’s bobsleigh team, also known as the “Soca Sliders,” has earned their first medals of the season in the fourth round of the North American Cup in Park City, USA, on Saturday.
The team of Axel Brown, Thomas Harris, Xaverri Williams, and De Aundre John competed against powerhouse nations like the USA and Canada, where the Caribbean team delivered an impressive performance, finishing 4th and 5th in the two high-stakes races.
The Trinbago team participated in the Four-Man Bobsleigh event, where they raced in two heats to give them their overall rank for the event.
In the first heat, on December 6, they finished in fifth place, clocking in with a time of 47.98 seconds, despite the difficulties Williams faced, as his suit ripped and caught his hand. In the second race they also placed fifth, finishing in 47.17 seconds, clocking a better time on day two.
After both races, the team tied for fourth place with Canada with an overall time of 1:36.15 seconds, earning an extended podium medal, which is awarded to fourth to sixth place finishers.
Canada finished fourth in the first heat with a time of 47.96 seconds and sixth in the second heat, clocking 48.19 seconds, which tallied to be the same time as T&T.
In front of Trinbago and Canada to seal the top three positions were the USA in first and second place with times of (1:35.46) for first and (1:35.72) for second. Brazil placed third with (1:35.84).
From a post on social media, the team expressed how they felt about their performances in the competition.
“We tied with Canada for 4th place, showing just how formidable our small Caribbean nation is becoming in the sport of bobsleigh, to be able to challenge powerhouse countries like the USA and Canada,” the team members explained.
The Soca Sliders are expected to compete in the Europe Cup that is scheduled in the next ten days. T&T is now ranked 23rd in the world for the four-man bobsleigh rankings.
