WATCH (above): Sports reporter Jay Janower talks to Canadian national bobsleigh pilot Justin Kripps and skeleton racer Jane Channel about Whistler’s bid for worlds.
Canada wants to bring the world’s fastest sliding athletes back to the track that hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, along with Whistler announced today it’s bidding to host the 2019 world championship. The competition is two weeks long and Global News sports reporter Jay Janower says the it will be a “stiff” field of athletes since there are only 16 tracks worldwide with the majority located in Europe.
“It’s the biggest bobsledding event in the world outside the Olympics,” says Canadian Olympic Bobsleigh Racer Justin Kripps, who is from Summerland, B.C.
“Everyone brings their A-game and there’s celebrations in the towns that we’re at… and it’s just a lot of fun. It’d be great to see it here in Whistler.”
In addition to hosting the 2010 Games, the venue has also staged multiple World Cup events as well as the 2013 luge world championships.
The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation is expected to announce the winning bid by June 2.
The Whistler track is the same one where 21-year-old Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died just hours before the start of the 2010 Olympics, prompting criticism the course was too fast.
“Whistler is considered one of the most difficult tracks, it’s intense, it’s fast and it’s technical. And a lot of the sliders, myself included, those are the types of tracks we want to be at.
“I think the general consensus by the pilots is they want to race here.”
~ with files from Paula Baker
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