Canada's four-man bobled team, with pilot Lyndon Rush, won gold at a World Cup event in Utah on Saturday. (Mike Groll/Associated Press)

Canada's Lyndon Rush drove to the gold medal in the opening four-man World Cup bobsled race of the season Saturday in Park City, Utah.

Rush, of Humboldt, Sask., and the team of Chris Le Bihan of Kelowna, B.C., and Calgarians Dan Humphries and Lascelles Brown finished two runs in a combined time of one minute 36.43 seconds.

Latvia's Janis Minins was second, tied with Russia's Dmitry Abramovitch on the 2002 Olympic track, both finishing only 0.02 seconds behind the Canadian sled.

Reigning world champion Steven Holcomb, racing in his hometown, slipped getting into his sled on the second run, smashed into a wall and settled for seventh.

Veteran U.S. driver Todd Hays led after the first run, then injured his left hamstring at the start of the second and finished sixth.

The 40-year-old Hays opened his season with a silver medal in Friday's two-man opener. But on Saturday, he sat in the changing room for about 15 minutes after the race, his left leg propped up on a bench and with an icepack trying to numb his pain.

There was no immediate word on the severity of the injury.

He's not the only driving star with injury woes right now. The German considered by many to be the sport's best driver ever might now be facing long odds just to make it to the Vancouver Games.

Andre Lange, who earned gold at the 2002 and 2006 Olympics in four-man bobsledding, and captured gold at the 2006 Turin Games in two-man, will be off the World Cup circuit indefinitely with a groin injury.

Lange aggravated an injury in the two-man on Friday, and was so hurt on Saturday that he didn't even push the sled. He started already seated inside the sleigh, his three pushers doing all the work and then hopping inside. He finished 17th.