Beijing 2022: 'Gutting to watch' - Greg Rutherford left devastated by Bard Hall and Nick Gleeson two-man bobsleigh crash
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 15/02/2022 at 20:07 GMT
“He's trying to move his body across, but its gone too far, and he's gone over and he's had that crash, which was actually devastating. These are the fine margins if you get something slightly wrong." Rutherford was speaking in the cube after watching more GB medal hopes crash and burn. Watch every moment of the Games on discovery+.
'Head and shoulders above us all' - Rutherford on German iced track dominance
Greg Rutherford admits he was devastated to see the Team GB two-man bobsleigh team crash out of the event on Tuesday.
Brad Hall and Nick Gleeson went into the event with hopes of a medal but saw hopes fade after sub-par runs in heats one and two a day earlier.
Heading into the final heats in 11th place they crashed in the penultimate run before recovering to return for the final round, eventually finishing in the same position they started the day.
Both men thankfully walked away from the incident.
Speaking in the Eurosport cube, Rutherford cursed the ‘fine margins’ that saw the pair crash out.
“It was gutting to watch,” he said. “I was genuinely devastated.
“As soon as he had his tap, I literally just shouted, ‘he's gonna go over here...’ and you see him try and save it.
“He's trying to move his body across, but its gone too far, and he's gone over and he's had that crash, which was actually devastating.
“These are the fine margins if you get something slightly wrong.
“Brad was giving it everything, he’s a fantastic driver with Nick Gleeson on the back as well - one of the best British bobsledders we've probably ever had.
“It was remarkable. But sadly, it wasn't to be.
“But we've got the four-man and the hope is we can get a medal in the four.”
The failure to pick up a medal so far at the games has been well-documented with this event considered to be one of Team GB’s best hopes.
Instead, it was the Germans who swept the board with an incredible one-two-three finish as Francesco Friedrich teamed with Thorsten Margis to take gold ahead of Johannes Lochner, who finished with a silver medal alongside Florian Bauer, with Christoph Hafer and Matthias Sommer securing the bronze.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/02/15/3318258-67845433-2560-1440.jpg)
'Phenomenal, textbook performance' - Friedrich retains two-man bobsleigh title
Rutherford pointed to the advantage the Germans have in their preparations, off the back of the news they have partnered with BMW to create a simulator of the track at Beijing 2022.
“What's incredible is they have this simulator," he added. "which effectively means they can put the track on there, and they can run it, replicate it, and keep on going with it and figure out all those little kinks and bumps.
“So they have that massive advantage. This shows how good people can be when you invest in a program. That's what the Germans are doing. They're investing in their athletes.
“Sadly, we can't do that in the UK. But we do the best we possibly can with the facilities we have, but the Germans, goodness me, they’re head and shoulders above all of us.”
--
Watch every moment of the Games on discovery+.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement