THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
IGLS, Austria — Canadian Helen Upperton won a women’s bobsled World Cup race Friday to take the lead in the overall standings.
The Calgary driver and brakeman Heather Moyse of Summerside, P.E.I., posted the fastest time in both heats and won in a two-run combined time of one minute 49.07 seconds.
"I was pretty good in training all week and I thought I would be in the mix today," Upperton said. "Igls is always a close race because it is a short track which makes the start so important."
Americans Shauna Rohbock and Valerie Fleming took second, 0.14 seconds behind, while German duo Sandra Kiriasis and Romy Logsch came third, trailing the winners by 0.16 seconds.
The victory marked a sweet return to the Canada 1 sled for the 30-year-old Moyse, who has battled a shoulder injury the past year.
"Coming back with a gold medal is definitely a mental relief for me," said Moyse. "To know we were strong at the starts, with the second and third-fastest times, and to see that Helen and I still have chemistry together was very important for me today because it has been such a frustrating injury."
Calgary’s Kaillie Humphries and Shelley-Ann Brown of Pickering, Ont., were seventh at 1:49.80 while Lisa Szabon of Nanton, Alta., and Amanda Moreley of Surrey, B.C., finished 13th at 1:50.90.
Upperton, who teamed up with Edmonton’s Jenny Ciochetti in a World Cup race in Winterberg, Germany last month, leads the overall standings with 642 points.
Kiriasis is second, seven points behind, and Cathleen Martini of Germany third with 594 points. Rohbock and Pac are fourth and fifth with 578 and 528 points, respectively.