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American sledder Kris Horn avoided serious injury after racing alone down the St. Moritz track in a four-man sled at a speed of about 120 km/h.
The three teammates, Ryan Rager, Hunter Powell and Caleb Furnell, were unable to board the sled after Horn, the driver, entered first. It is common practice for the driver to enter the sled first.
The four-person sled is designed for balanced weight distribution, with a brakeman responsible for stopping the sled at the finish line.
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Kristopher Horn and Carsten Vissering of the United States in action during the Men’s 2-Bob World Cup, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on January 10, 2026. (Mayk Wendt/Keystone via AP)
Rager appeared to stumble first, causing a domino effect. Powell appeared to be thrown violently into the track wall, hitting his back on the icy, hard-packed surface after he failed to get onto the sled, and Furnell was unable to reach his position.
None of the American gliders were seriously injured and all X-rays taken came back negative, the team said.
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“A little bit of pain,” Powell told The Associated Press. “I’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
Horn raced down the track but still reached high speeds during a race that lasted just over a minute. He guided the sled across the finish line, then moved back and pulled the brake handles himself.
Kristopher Horn, Carsten Vissering, Martin Christofferson and Hunter Powell of the United States compete in three of the four-man bobsleigh at the 2025 IBSF World Championships at Mt. Van Hoevenberg on March 15, 2025, in Lake Placid, New York (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Athletes and coaches from several national teams rushed to the finish line to check on Horn as the sled came to a stop. Horn, whose bobsled career began as a brakeman, waved to nearby television cameras to indicate he was unharmed.
Team USA’s Hunter Church, Joshua Williamson, Kristopher Horn and Charlie Volker break down as they finish their slide during Heat Four of the Men’s Bobsleigh on Day 16 of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at the National Sliding Center on February 20, 2022, in Yanqing, China. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Horn also crashed during the two-man World Cup race on Saturday. His brakeman for that event, Carsten Vissering, suffered abrasions and was unable to compete in the four-man category on Sunday. Rager took Vissering’s place in the four-man sled.
There is one weekend of World Cup racing left before USA Bobsled and Skeleton chooses its team for the Milan Cortina Olympics next month.
