Langen, and his 37-year-old brakeman Zimmerman, won the right to go last after tossing a coin.

BBC: Germany take two-man title

Defending Olympic champion Pierre Lueders of Canada, with his brakeman Giulio Zardo, came home behind the Americans.

BBC: Germany take two-man title

The brakeman fell down outside the cable car as he was pushing it and couldn't get back aboard.

NPR: San Francisco Cable Car Accidents Costs Millions

Kuske is called the brakeman, but it's a misleading title, because he only applies the brake to pull the sled up after the finish.

CNN: Better than Bolt? The fastest men on ice

In the Olympic two-man test race in February at Sochi, Cory Butner and brakeman Johnny Quinn were the highest-finishing Americans in ninth, more than a second off the gold-medal pace of Beat Hefti and brakeman Thomas Lamparter of Switzerland.

WSJ: New Bo-Dyn 4-man bobsled could save US team