While the axiom, “slow and steady wins the race,” doesn’t usually apply to gravity sports, the County’s own Kolby Parks cites a conservative approach for his latest triumph in Street Luge.

The PECI Educational Assistant also specializes in flying down hills.  Mr. Parks was the fastest down the track in Erzincan, Turkey in round one of the World Gravity Sport Federation’s 2024 World Cup races. He is one of the fastest street lugers — supine downhill skateboarding — in the world.

The champion was in third place early in the race held June 2, but a stunning brake manoeuvre and inside line on a harrowing turn six moved the Wellington native from third to top place.

Creating some distance from Andrej Ilic of Czechia and Ulrich Becker of Germany, Mr. Parks navigated the rest of the course safely and picked up his first World Cup win. 

“I’ve competed in nearly 100 races in my career but the course in Erzincan was by far the longest and fastest,” said Mr. Parks. “After the first hairpin turn, it stayed at or above 100 km/h for the rest of the way. 

“It’s very rare to have a track that stays at that speed over that much distance for that length of time.”

A six-time World Cup winner and multiple Canadian and North American champion, Mr. Parks reminded himself in the training days beforehand that the race couldn’t be won from a hospital bed.

“You can’t send it on Sunday if you go to the hospital on Saturday.”

That’s what presumptive favourite and top-ranked Malaysian racer Abdil Mahdzan found out after he went spinning off the track during Saturday’s trials. Mr. Mahdzan escaped serious injury, but he was unable to make it to the start line the following day.

“He’s very tough to beat and when we heard what corner he crashed on, there was some real concern from the other racers. Thankfully he was able to get up and walk off under his own power.”

Going into the finals, Mr. Parks was confident with his luge set up but still wasn’t thinking of a top run. With its high, sustained speeds, the Erzincan course didn’t play to his skill set. Yet with so many brilliant runs under his belt, the local had a feeling.

“Knowing what was ahead of me, how fast the course was and how I would be limited in my chances to pass, my leg was bouncing the entire time at the starting line. It had never done that before,” he said with a laugh.

Mr. Parks figured turn six was the safest place to make a pass although those watching the replay might have a hard time understanding why. He pulled in front of Mr. Ilic and expected to feel the second-place racer bumping him from behind. But no one was near when Mr. Parks took a milliseconds-long glance behind.

“At that point, I knew I had a little bit to work with on the last half of the track and made sure I didn’t take any big risks.”

“When I crossed the line, it’s the most pumped I’ve been in quite a while. It’s been some time since my last win, so I was really happy that I could do it on that track.”

It won’t be a lazy summer for Mr. Parks. He’s back on the family farm east of Wellington, keeping an eye on the field crops while training and tinkering.

“Going into the race in Turkey, I abandoned an experimental truck system on my sled and went with something more conventional. I’m always looking to make the tiny improvements that will mean faster times down the hill.”

Mr. Parks heads to Wales later this year to take part in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers. He represents Canada in Rome at the World Skate Games in the fall, and wraps up the season by defending his crown at the North American Championships in Ohio. He will close out with a final World Cup qualifier in Tennessee.