Russia's Tretiakov trying to hang on in skeleton

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — Alexander Tretiakov's lead would probably be safe against anyone else, the Olympic gold as good as hanging from his neck.

Not with Martins Dukurs on his tail.

Russia's Tretiakov, sliding in front of chanting fans on a home track he's been practicing on for weeks, will take a 0.56-second lead into the final two heats of men's skeleton on Friday over Dukurs, the precise Latvian who has owned the World Cup circuit the past two seasons and had to settle for silver in Vancouver after leading after three runs.

It would be wise for Tretiakov to put down a solid, speedy run in the third heat because Dukurs, who has won 24 of his past 28 World Cup events, will be coming for him.

"I thought that Tretiakov was going to put down a good run," said U.S. slider Kyle Tress. "We knew he was going to push faster. I'm not surprised that it's Martins and Alex at the top. Anything can happen. We know it's going to come down to the last heat, regardless."

Both men are under tremendous pressure, Tretiakov on his home soil at the Sochi Games and Dukurs trying to win his country's first gold medal in the winter Olympics after coming so tantalizingly close in 2010, when he lost to Canada's Jon Montgomery by 0.07 seconds.

It's a two-man race for gold, and it could be a two-man race for bronze — between Americans.

John Daly of Smithtown, N.Y., leads teammate Matt Antoine of Prairie du Chien, Wis., by 0.26 seconds. The U.S. has not won a medal in skeleton since 2002 but have a good chance to end the drought.

"It'll be a miracle to get one or two," Daly said. "But it's a race within a race now. It's a race for the medal. And for me and Matt Antoine, I know for both of us it's kind of a medal or nothing, so we're both going to be going for it."