Olympics: Dallow out of two-man bobsleigh

Wellington bobsledder Robert Bruce is on standby to join New Zealand's Winter Olympic Games team at Salt Lake City.

Bruce will fly to the United States on Sunday if team member Matt Dallow fails a final fitness test on his fractured leg.

Dallow, 30, and based in Arizona, was ruled out of the two-man bobsleigh team last night and is racing against time to be fit to be a reserve for next week's four-man contest. He fractured a fibula bone in a fall on the ice while training in Canada late last month.

Normally a spiral fracture of the fibula would need six weeks rest, but Dallow had to begin light jogging on it this week if he was to be the brakeman for pilot Alan Henderson in the two-man bob.

Team chef de mission Geoff Balme told NZPA Dallow had been given a daily management programme for his recovery, but failed to meet fitness goals.

"It just wasn't strong enough," Balme said.

Balme said a reserve was virtually essential for the four-man bob in case one of the crew is injured in the four runs.

Dallow's place in the two-man contest which starts on Sunday is expected to be taken by Mark Edmond, 25, of Christchurch.

However, he will be rated alongside the other two team members at Salt Lake City, Angus Ross -- the brakeman at the last Games -- and Stephen Harrison.

The two-man crew will be the next New Zealanders to compete at the Games, after Angela Paul in the luge and Mark Jackson in the short track speed skating raced yesterday.

Jackson, 21, of Christchurch, was annoyed with himself after his race after he missed finishing in the top two and qualifying for the final 16.

In his four-man heat he knew the tactics he wanted to race, but did not execute them quite well enough.

He finished third with a time of one minute 32.276 secs, behind a Japanese skater he beat just a fortnight ago.

"It just made me a wee bit angry because I know I could keep up with those guys.

"If I have a bad race I usually get quite angry and I get going in the next one. But it's at the Olympics."

Paul, 26, of Hamilton, was a much happier slider after her third and fourth runs in the luge were considerably quicker and smoother than her first two runs.

Paul said coping with the disappointing first half of the contest had been "brutal" and she had had to dig deep to perform to her best in the final runs yesterday.

She did that, reaching speeds of more than 119km/h on the 1140-metre ice-chute, to complete the third run in 43.943 secs and the fourth run in 43.869 secs.

Her combined time of two minutes 56.475 seconds was just over four seconds slower than the German gold medallist Sylke Otto.

"It was probably the worst two runs of my career and it happened to be at the Olympics.

"But by the start of the third run I decided hey, this is the sport that I love doing and this is what I'm here to do and I should give it everything I've got.

"I wasn't going to give up, because I'm competitive. I knew I could do it."

Paul, New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony, said the four runs at Salt Lake City were "probably my last ever" but she had made no decisions on retirement.

-NZPA