Pushed by teammate Daumants Dreiškens, Melbārdis led two rides to a finish of 1 minute and 43.95 seconds. He admitted making an error on the first run which erased their chances of a first-place finish, but managed to hold the position on the second run 0.31 seconds behind gold medal winner, Germany’s team led by Francesco Friedrich.
Melbārdis currently remains the top rated bobsleigh athlete in the World Cup standings.
Coach Sandris Prūsis told Latvian Television by phone that Melbārdis’ second run was “really good, much better than the first, hats off to him!”
The seventh stage of the World Cup medal competition season continues Saturday with men’s and women’s skeleton runs (which were cancelled at the previous stage due to poor ice quality), and Sunday with the 4-man bobsleigh competition.
Next week the World Cup contest will close at the Sochi Olympic track, while the season’s most important starts will begin at the end of February at Winterberg, Germany.
