Idaho downhill skier Erik Fisher completed the best weekend of his World Cup career Saturday, finishing 12th on a piercingly cold day in Chamonix, France, when temperatures sank to minus 15.
Jan Hudec, Canada, finished the icy course in 2 minutes, 3.25 seconds, followed by Romed Baumann, Austria, 2:03.78, and Erik Guay, Canada, 2:03.88.
Fisher finished in 2:04.68 and was the second fastest American for the second straight day, behind Bode Miller (2:04.44, eighth). Fisher finished 12th on Friday, also in Chaminox.
"Fisher did a good job of building off of yesterday and actually skied some of the technical turns much better today,'' U.S. coach Sasha Rearick said.
Fisher, a Middleton resident and 2003 Eagle High gradate, has 25 World Cup finishes, including six top 20s and four top 15s, but none since 2008 and 2009. He is 31st in the World Cup downhill standings.
NICK CUNNINGHAM MAKES WORLD CUP DEBUT
The former Boise State track athlete teamed with Dallas Robinson (Georgetown, Ky.) for his World Cup debut as a driver to lead the U.S. squad with a ninth-place finish in a two-man bobsled race in Whistler, B.C.
“We wanted to make a statement to the world that we are here to compete and that there’s depth in the U.S. program,'' Cunningham said.
The last time Cunningham was on the Whistler track he was a brakeman for Mike Kohn at the 2010 Winter Olympics. The elite push athlete decided to try his hand at driving a sled following the Games, and secured 11 medals on the America’s Cup tour already this season.
“Competing here in the Olympics was a dream and it was the best time I’ve had in my entire life,” Cunningham said. “Coming back and following that experience with a top-10 finish as a driver feels amazing.''
Cunningham and Robinson displayed their power by bursting off the block with identical start times of 4.81 seconds in the two-heat race, and Cunningham led the crew to the finish with nearly matching finish times of 52.53 and 52.54 seconds.
“Our goal was to be one of the top teams in the push, and we did that,” Cunningham said. “Dallas rose to the occasion today and I think we made some other nations take note of us. I put together the two best runs yet on this track during the race, so I’m excited to see what we can do in the four-man competition tomorrow.”
BOISEAN 25th in WORLD CUP BIATHLON
Sara Studebaker, a 2003 Boise High graduate, finished 25th in a 10k pursuit in Oslo, Norway, on Saturday. The former Olympian was the top American in the field and sits 57th in the overall World Cup standings.
