Mirela Rahneva Leads Canucks into Eighth at Skeleton World Cup
LAKE PLACID, USA—Canada’s Mirela Rahneva will head into the holiday break sitting in third spot on the skeleton World Cup following an eighth-place finish on Friday in Lake Placid, NY.
Explosive off the block with top-five starts, the 34-year-old clocked a combined time of 1:51.69 in her two runs down the challenging 1,455-metre track that twists and turns down Mount Van Hoevenberg.
The Germans grabbed the top-two spots on the women’s podium. Tina Hermann posted top times in both heats to capture her first victory of the season at 1:51.06. Susan Kreher slid to the silver medal in just her fifth career start on the World Cup, stopping the clock at 1:51.37.
Kelly Curtis, of the United States, also celebrated her first career World Cup medal, taking the bronze with a time of 1:51.39.
A former rubgy player at the University of Guelph, Rahneva sits in third place in the overall standings following the first three North American stops on the IBSF World Cup. The two-time Olympian captured her fourth career victory on the World Cup two weeks ago in Park City. She was seventh at the season-opener on home ice at the Whistler Sliding Centre. A 12-time medallist on the World Cup, Rahneva is no stranger to the top of the international standings. She previously finished third overall in 2017.
North Vancouver’s Jane Channell snagged a spot in the top-15. Posting the fastest start times in each of her two runs, the 34-year-old placed 13th at 1:52.62. Channell, who finished second in last weekend’s World Push Championships in Lake Placid, was sitting in 10th spot after her opening blast down the track but dropped three spots in the final heat.
Calgary’s Jaclyn Laberge jumped headfirst onto the final Canadian women’s sled. Laberge placed 19th at 1:54.95.
Two Calgarians took to the starting block for the men’s race. Canada’s 21-year-old World Cup rookie, Blake Enzie raced to 17th spot with a time of 1:51.66.
Competing in his first ever World Cup race, Kyle Donsberger slid to 18th spot with a time of 1:51.89.
Matt Weston, of Great Britain, set the time to beat in the men’s race at 1:48.16. Germany’s Christopher Grotheer was second at 1:48.32. Korea’s Seunggi Jung punched the clock at 1:48.40 for third place.
The World Cup continues on Saturday in Lake Placid with the women’s monobob and two-man bobsleigh races.
Bobsleigh CANADA Skeleton is a non-profit organization and the national governing body for the sports of bobsleigh and skeleton in Canada. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Karbon and Joe Rocket Canada – along with the Government of Canada, Own the Podium and the Canadian Olympic Committee, Bobsleigh CANADA Skeleton develops Olympic and world champions. Please visit us at www.bobsleighcanadaskeleton.ca.