Montgomery gives Canada more dramatic gold

Last Updated: Saturday, February 20, 2010 | 5:08 AM ET

By Brandon Hicks, CBC Sports

Auctioneer. Used car salesman. Olympic gold medallist.

That's how you can introduce Jon Montgomery, Canada's latest champion.

The Russell, Man., native with the tousled red hair and shaggy beard became Canada's fourth gold medallist at the Vancouver Olympics on Friday, snatching it away from fellow skeleton rider Martins Dukurs of Latvia in the final run.

"We're No. 1, baby!" the charismatic slider with the lopsided grin yelled after he won the title.

You'd be forgiven if you were getting a sense of déjà vu after watching the race — after all, his victory recalled the gold won by speedskater Christine Nesbitt in the 1,000 metres on Thursday, when the margin of victory was just 2-100ths of a second.

The stage was also set Thursday at the Whistler Sliding Centre when Dukurs threw down the gauntlet during his first run of that night, opening up a lead of 28-100ths of a second on Montgomery.

But the 30-year-old Manitoban chipped into the lead a little by laying down the fastest time in the second run, clocking in at 52.57 seconds to Dukurs's 52.59.

It may not have looked it, but that 2-100ths of a second was big heading into the second and final day of competition. It meant that, barring any slip-ups, it was going to be a two-horse race for the gold on Friday.

It also meant that Montgomery could hang in there with the undisputed king of the skeleton this season.

Montgomery himself told The Canadian Press after Thursday's runs that short of going after Dukurs with "Tonya Harding and a lead pipe," his opponent was invincible.

Lay down gauntlet

And when Dukurs opened up the second day of competition by setting a track record with his third run, racing down at a top speed of 144.8 kilometres an hour to clock in at 52.28, he did look unbeatable.

Cue Montgomery. Second down the run, he broke Dukurs's brand-new track record with one of his own, setting the new mark at 52.20.

More important, he cut into Dukurs's lead again, this time after the Latvian laid down a sizzler. The margin was now 18-100ths of a second heading into the final run.

This time, Montgomery went before Dukurs. On a slower track, he punched in at 52.36.

For the final time, Dukurs picked up the pace during the first half of the run. But the final three splits saw the margin shrink, until it was down to an 8-100ths lead going into the final few turns.

"I was biting my nails, for sure," Montgomery said later, when asked what it was like watching his Latvian rival's final run.

The deafening Whistler crowd reminded Montgomery of what he already knew after Dukurs crossed the line: He was an Olympic champion.

"I started to realize there was a possibility that I could win this race on his exit into Corner 7. Those [interval] numbers got lower and lower until he was in the plus side," he said.

"And I lost my mind."

Slim margin of victory

Dukers ended up with a time of 52.61 for a total of 3:29.80, which was 7-100ths slower than Montgomery's 3:29.73.

Though he had been the favourite, Dukurs was still happy with a medal.

"I'm a little disappointed with the last run, but not disappointed about the result. When I came here I thought top three would be great," said Dukurs.

The victory was a brilliant end to a difficult night for the Canadian skeleton team.

First, a distraught Melissa Hollingsworth dropped from second to fifth after a disastrous final run in the women's event. Hollingsworth was the favourite coming into the Olympics.

Then Michael Douglas of Kleinburg, Ont., who was in the running for a bronze medal in the men's event, was disqualified before the third run.

Race officials said Douglas was late getting his sled to the parque fermé, the area where the skeleton sleds are inspected before they are allowed to go down the run.

But for Canada's newest Olympic hero, it's mission definitely accomplished.

Montgomery fell in love with the sport at 22, when he mistakenly thought he saw a luge rider crashing while he was hanging out at the track in Calgary.

And ever since the IOC awarded the Olympics to Vancouver back in 2003, Montgomery has given everything he had to make it on to the team.

The result was two Canadian titles and two World Cup gold medals, plus silver at the world championships in 2008.

Coming into the Olympics, Montgomery was ranked fifth on the World Cup circuit. And after he clocked the fastest time during all six training runs, you knew something special might be in the cards.

"I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't going for gold," he told CBCSports.ca back in January.

Now he has it, which is definitely something nice to hang around his neck, sitting right beside that maple leaf tattooed on his chest.