United States sledder Guillermo Castillo, right, poses for a photo after placing third in the Para-Bobsled World Cup race Thursday, Feb. 6 at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid. Canadian Lonnie Bissonnette, left, placed second and Dave Nicholls, of Israel, won the race. Provided photo — IBSF

LAKE PLACID – Dave Nicholls of Israel and Canada’s Lonnie Bissonnette each earned gold and silver medals in Para-Bobsled World Cup races held Thursday, Feb. 6 and Friday, Feb. 7 at the Mount Van Hoevenberg run in Lake Placid.

The IBSF competitions featured a field 20 athletes representing a dozen different nations. Guillermo Castillo, of Orlando, Florida, had the top performance among the four Americans entered, finishing with a bronze medal Thursday.

“I am a product of great people around me,” Castillo said. “I hope to continue to get better and represent this great nation with the honor and integrity it deserves.”

In the opening contest, Nicholls put down runs of 59.97 seconds and 1:00.08 for a winning 2:00.05 total. Bissonnette was a close runner-up in 2:00.13 and Castillo placed third in 2:00.73.

Also for the Americans, Steven Jacobo (Gardnerville, Nevada) finished 10th in 2:01.62, Sarah Frazier-Kim (Houston, Texas) placed 16th in 2:02.32 and Frederick Evans (Pooler, Georgia) was 19th in 2:04.05.

Guillermo "Will" Castillo competes in the Para-Bobsled World Cup last week in Lake Placid. Provided photo — IBSF

In heavy snowfall, Friday’s competition was a one-heat race. Bissonnette was the lone racer to navigate the run in less than a minute, winning with a time of 59.65. Nicholls grabbed silver in 1:00.41 and Spain’s Israel Blanco claimed bronze in 1:00.45.

Castillo was the top U.S. finisher in the race again, placing eighth in 1:00.72. Frazier-Kim finished 11th in 1:00.87, Evans was 16th in 1:01.55 and Jacobo was 18th in 1:02.61.

Castillo is a U.S. veteran and a Purple Heart recipient. He was injured in a roadside bombing on his second deployment in Iraq. Castillo once said he “found his identity again in bobsled.”

With eight races completed and two more remaining as the World Cup season concludes in Park City, Utah, Great Britain’s Corie Mapp is at the top of the overall standings with 1,662 points. He turned in fourth- and seventh-place showings in Lake Placid.

Bissonnette, last year’s overall champion, stands second with 1,630 points and Latvia’s Artus Klots is in third place with 1,533 points. Castillo currently leads the American contingent in seventh place with 1,248 points.

The ISBF Para-Bobsled World Cup season began with two races each in Lillehammer, Norway, Oberhof, Germany and St. Moritz, Switzerland before visiting Lake Placid for the tour’s seventh and eighth stops. Park City hosts the World Cup season’s final two events on Saturday and Sunday.

The 2020 Para-Bobsled World Championships will be held Feb. 24 and 25 in Lillehammer.