Here's What It Looked Like From Inside the Bobsled That Crashed & Still Finished First

The two-man bobsled competition finished its first day with a team taking the lead in an unexpected fashion.

The German team of Christian Poser and pilot Nico Walther started their second of four runs in third place. So, they got a little aggressive in a push to take the lead. The run resulted in the bobsled tipping onto its side just before the finish line. (Bobsleds have an average speed around 93 mph. NBC's broadcast clocked most bobsleds crossing 86 mph at the Olympic Sliding Center.)

Poser and Walther's helmeted heads poked out the top of the sled, exposed to the ice wall rushing past the sled. The broadcast cut to their concerned coaches and teammates whose expressions went quickly from elation to shock. It took a few moments, but, with a little help, Walther and Poser got out of the sled and were thankfully uninjured. (One later said in an interview he was more concerned for his grandmother watching at home.)

The unexpected part? Though they finished the race completely sideways, they'd taken over first place.

NBC has shared video of what the end of that run looked like from inside the sled. (It's as nauseating as seeing the racer's point of view in a skeleton race.) Watch the video above to get a sense of what Poser saw as the German team pushed for a first-place finish.

h/t NBC Olympics

UPDATE:
There was a tie for Olympic gold in two-man bobsled on Monday. Walther and Poser's countrymen Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis tied the Canadian team of Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz for gold. Walther's team finished off the podium in fourth place, just 0.15 seconds from a bronze medal. 

Here's an explanation of what happens when there's a tie in an Olympic event.

Check back during the games for all of Thrillist’s continuing Olympics coverage. Think of us like an all-knowing friend watching along with you to answer all the important questions, like how heavy are Olympic medals. We'll explain everything from curling rules and figure skating scoring to what OAR means, why winning athletes are receiving stuffed animals and much, much more.

Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email, and get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.

Dustin Nelson is a News Writer with Thrillist. He wonders if they should have had a catchy rhyme to say when they started their run. Follow him @dlukenelson.