Pierre Lueders, four-time Olympian and the most decorated slider in Canadian history, and brakeman Justin Kripps participated in the christening of The Whistler Sliding Centre track. They made some of the first runs at the new venue on December 19, 2007.
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games are February 12-28, 2010. The Paralympic Games follow, running March 12-21, 2010. Early test runs on the track were designed to test the ice as well as the support facilities. VANOC tested 10 curves of the winding track.
Following inspection, Lueders and Kripps made six runs from a lower start, approximately 1/3 down from the top of the 1,450-meter lit competition track. The first test run included a short push start, a clean run and a small jump during the slide leading into the deceleration zone due to an ice ridge.
The six runs on the 10 winding curves tested were completed over the course of two hours. The first test run of Canadian bobsledders Pierre Lueders and Justin Kripps on the Whistler Sliding Centre track included some "air time" at the end due to an ice ridge. It was shaved down for their next five test runs. Photo courtesy VANOC / David McColm.
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