Holcomb extends four-man lead to edge closer to gold

From Sportsbeat staff, in Vancouver

 STEVEN Holcomb has one hand on the USA's first men's bobsleigh gold medal for 62 years, after narrowly extending his lead at the Whistler Sliding Centre.

THREE DOWN ONE TO GO: Steven Holcomb and co are on the verge of four-man gold after extending their lead in their third run (Getty Images)

Holcomb, the current world champion, teamed up with Steve Mesler, Curtis Tomasevicz and Justin Olsen, has been unrivalled in Whistler and while he didn't set a new track record as he did in his first two runs, the American still has a commanding lead over nearest competitor Lyndon Rush.

The American quartet posted 51.19, extending their lead of Canada's Rush by 0.05, while two-time defending champion Andre Lange was a further 0.05 behind in the third run, ensuring the German is 0.54 off the pace with one run remaining.

Holcomb has been in dominant form on the lightning fast track and while the majority of his competitors have struggled to come to terms with corner 13 - dubbed '50-50' by the athletes in reference to the chances of remaining upright - the American has had no such problems.

Indeed, 12 of the 29 crews have crashed on corner 13, including the British quartet of John James Jackson, Dan Money, Henry Nwume and Allyn Condon, who spilled in their second run to lie 21st over night.

In their third run they clocked the 14th fastest time of 52.54 to move up to 18th overall and ensure they will get the opportunity to take part in the fourth and final run, despite lying 5.12 behind Holcomb.

 AS IT HAPPENS: Day 16 of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver