One disappointing final run has left monobob star Bree Walker's hopes of earning a historic world championship bobsleigh gold for Australia in ruins.
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Instead of becoming the first Aussie medallist in 94 years of the world championships, Walker had the agony of seeing her silver medal position going into the fourth and last run in Winterberg on Sunday bump frustratingly into a fourth-placed finish.
The 31-year-old Victorian eventually missed out on the bronze by just 0.07 seconds, and looked the picture of disappointment as she hung her head in the cockpit of her sled at the German resort after the near-miss.
A dazzling third run on Sunday morning, the second best of all the finalists, had put Walker right in the hunt for the gold, pushing her up from her overnight position of third to second, a mere one-tenth of a second behind the leader, Germany's defending champion Laura Nolte.
But just when she needed to find the form that has transported her to four World Cup podium finishes this season, Walker had her worst outing of the weekend.
Clipping the chute wall on three occasions, her lead, still in tact at the second intermediate checkpoint, started to disappear, as she clocked 58.82 seconds, which was to prove seventh fastest of the round.
Left to hope Nolte would make a mistake as the last to go, Walker's chances disappeared as the German roared down in 58.62sec, the second fastest of the round, to reclaim the gold in a four-round total time of 3min 54.77sec.
It put her 0.18sec ahead of American Olympic silver medallist Elana Meyers Taylor and 0.23sec clear of fellow German Lisa Buckwitz, while Walker finished 0.30sec behind the winner.
It was the second year running that the Australian had finished fourth.
This was a big disappointment for the former hurdler-turned-winter sports star Walker, who had been a model of consistency earlier on the World Cup circuit this season with two World Cup silvers and two bronze.
But her best form had deserted her in the two lead-up events to Winterberg, as she finished ninth in Sigulda, Latvia, and seventh in Altenberg, Germany.
Her remaining big hope this season will be to finish in the top-three in the overall standings after the final event in Lake Placid. Again, she's currently in fourth place, just behind American Kaysha Love with Buckwitz leading and Nolte second.
She'll also be competing with brakewoman Kiara Reddingius in the Australian two-woman bob when the world championships continue on Friday.
Australian Associated Press
