WAIS Winter Olympians Back on Track

WAIS bobsled duo Lucas Mata and Gareth Nichols recently competed at the North American Cup at the famed Lake Placid course registering two sixth place finishes in the two-man bobsleigh.

The pair who contested the four-man bobsleigh at last year’s Sochi Olympics took to the track for their first hit out of 2015, going head to head with their four-man Australian teammates Heath Spence and Lachlan Reidy, who claimed bragging rights with a pair of fourth place finishes.

In day one of competition, Mata (Wembley Downs) and Nichols (Mullaloo) completed the course in a total time of 1:54.58, 2.16secs behind race winners Nick Poloniato and Richard Bell of Canada (1:52.42).

The Aussies again secured a sixth place finish on day two of competition, with slower times across the board. The WAIS pair clocked 1:55.15 with Canada’s Poloniato this time pairing with Isaiah Hoeppner for a winning time of 1:53.61, 1.54secs ahead of Mata and Nichols.

Post Sochi, Mata has spent an extended period of time in Canada training to develop his pilot skills in the two-man sled, with Lake Placid representing the first hit out for the duo since his overseas stint, with Nichols claiming the pair were pleased with the early progress.

“The races went well with Lucas really taking to the driving,” he said. “Our pushing together still needs time to develop, but it’s not too bad.”

Lake Placid has twice hosted the Winter Olympics, in 1932 and 1980, and holds the distinction of being the only town in the world, to have sent an athlete representative to each Winter Olympics contested.

You can follow the boys on their winter games journey via twitter, with Lucas Mata at the @mata_lucas handle and Gareth Nichols found via @GarethChevNicho

You can also follow WAIS (@InsideWAIS) for all the latest news from the WA Institute of Sport.