Gold & silver for Hudson & Hullah

Josh Hudson and Jens Hullah won their first international medals as they claimed Europa Cup (EC) silver and Junior European Championship gold in Sigulda on Thursday afternoon.

Hudson, who is in his second season as a pilot, and Hullah, who switched to bobsleigh from rowing a year-and-a-half ago, finished second in the main race in their first ever appearance at the Latvian track.

The British pair clocked a two-run time of 1 minute 41.84 seconds to come down 0.04 seconds ahead of the Romanian and Latvia crews who were equal third in an 11-strong field.

Only Germany’s Maximilian Illmann, who won all three EC 2-man and 4-man races in Igls last month and was a World Cup bronze medalist in the 2-man the last time he competed in Sigulda, beat the Brits in the first of three back-to-back races scheduled for today, tomorrow and Saturday.

With the race also doubling as the Junior European Championships for athletes under the age of 26, the British pair claimed the country’s first ever win in that event.

Hudson, who hails from Devon and has a background in rugby union and weightlifting, and Hullah, who is from Somerset and previously won European Championship medals for GB in rowing at both U18 and U23 level, race again on Friday at 1pm GMT and at the same time on Saturday.