Matt Antoine claimed a bronze medal for the United States in the men’s skeleton Saturday at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games. Competing neck and neck with fellow American teammate John Daly for a medal, Antoine secured the bronze after his final heat as Daly fell to 15th after his sled popped out of the grooves causing it to go sideways.
"We've had the philosophy all season that you don't have to be perfect to be fast. (Friday), I tried to be a little too perfect. Today, the goal was to let it flow more and let the sled run,” said Antoine according to USA Today.
This the first US medal in skeleton since 2002 when Jimmy Shea won the gold in the Salt Lake City Games reported the Los Angeles Times.
Russian, Alexander Tretiakov secured the gold after setting a course record of 55.96 to become the only slider to break 56 seconds. Tretiakov previously skipped the final World Cup with the rest of the Russian slider team to train at home on the runs.
Silver medalist, Martins Dukurs of Latvia, was hoping to win Latvia’s first gold medal in the Winter Olympics after winning 24 of the past 28 World Cup races however fell just short of the Russian.