The Skeleton World Cup season finale took place on Friday 16 January at one of the hardest tracks in the world in Altenberg, Germany, in the final races of the Olympic qualification period.

by Deen

Kim Meylemans held a comfortable 130-point lead going into the weekend over home hero Jacqueline Pfeifer. Janine Flock sat in third but will drop down the standings as she misses the Altenberg event due to “health reasons” (per her Instagram). This means the battle for third overall will be between Tabitha Stoecker and Anna Fernstädt, with 60 points separating them.

Matt Weston has dominated the Men’s World Cup, with five out of six wins so far and a 175-point lead at the top over China’s Yin Zheng means he’s almost guaranteed to leave Altenberg with the Crystal Globe. Korea’s Jung Seunggi sat in third but will also miss this weekend, meaning the battle for third will be between Marcus Wyatt and home hero Axel Jungk who are separated by only 20 points.

Women’s race – Home hero Pfeifer wins with impeccable second run

Run 1

One of Germany’s stars, Susanne Kreher, led the field off. A smooth run with barely any visible mistakes including through the crucial turn 4 Omega corner led to an excellent benchmark of 57.43s, just 0.11 seconds away from the track record. World Champion Kimberly Bos was off next. An excellent start from Bos gave her a 0.14s advantage over Kreher which increased to two tenths at the next split. However, an untidier run saw her lead slowly slip away, but doing enough to finish in 57.42s, just a single hundredth ahead. 

A few sleds later came World Cup leader Kim Meylemans. Meylemans started well in 5.46s, immediately going 0.02s up on Bos. However, a skid coming out of Omega left her 0.03s back at the next split. Meylemans utilised a cleaner bottom half than Bos to finish and take the lead with a 57.39 second-time.

The last to really challenge was Pfeifer, currently sitting second overall in the standings. Pfeifer’s usual slow start left her a quarter of a second back halfway through. However, the German used her supreme knowledge of the track and usual razor-sharp form to unbelievably eradicate the advantage at the line. Pfeifer finished in 57.36 seconds, just 0.03s up on Meylemans.

It was an incredibly tight field after run one with just 0.07s separating the top 4. Stoecker used her top-two start time to finish best-of-the-rest, but at 0.41s back was out of medal contention. 

Run 2

The second run was an emotional affair for many athletes as Olympic qualification was either secured or missed. Jane Channell’s 14th-place finish, ahead of Julia Erlacher in 18th, confirmed Canada will receive 2 spots for the Games with Austria only achieving one. Channell was in tears of joy as she found out she had done enough to secure the second Canadian spot alongside 2024 World Champion Hallie Clarke. Erlacher, on the other hand, was dejected, knowing she will miss out on the Games as the one spot for Austria will go to Janine Flock. Two contrasting emotions highlighting just how important the Olympic Games are for these athletes.

Moving to the top ten athletes after run one, Tabitha Stoecker’s start of a tenth slower than her first heat meant she slipped one spot to 6th behind Germany’s third athlete, Hannah Neise. Stoecker was crucially ahead of Fernstädt though to secure third in the overall standings.

On to the medal contenders then. Kreher was up first, starting a full tenth faster than her first heat with an excellent top half also helping her to increase to an incredible 6 tenths up on Neise, putting severe pressure on the provisional medalists. 

Bos was next off, but skids in almost every other corner meant her 0.01s advantage quickly slipped away and eventually fell to 0.35s behind at the line, guaranteeing Kreher a home medal.

Meylemans sprinted off a few seconds later. Meylemans started a tenth faster than Kreher at the start to increase her margin immediately. However, an untidy Omega gave Kreher the lead by 0.03s a few splits later. Meylemans had a perfect second half of the run to claw the gap back again but ultimately dropped a spot by just 0.01s.

Pfeifer was last off the starting block. A usual 19th-fastest start immediately put her 0.05s back but that was the last time her lead looked in danger. From the moment she lay on her sled her form stayed bullet-like with a supreme, faultless run meaning that disadvantage disappeared into a lead, growing larger and larger. Pfeifer stopped the clock in 57.06s, obliterating the track record that no one else could beat by an incredible quarter of a second to win by a massive 0.33s.

Home hero Pfeifer won in Altenberg and will go into the Olympics as one of the favourites after also claiming victory in the World Cup opener on the Olympic track. Kreher made it a German 1-2 while Meylemans took third. In the overall World Cup standings, Meylemans became the first ever Belgian winner of the Crystal Globe. Pfeifer is the runner-up while Stoecker takes Britain’s first overall female World Cup medal in over a decade in third.

Men’s race – Wyatt tops tightly packed Altenberg field

Run 1

Marcus Wyatt led us off. A strong start, a run with no skids or taps and a beautiful Omega corner led to a 55.17s run, a monster new track record by 0.47s to lay the gauntlet down. A phenomenal run, with only a slightly wavy line through the 360-degree Kreisel corner to critique. Home hopeful Felix Keisinger flew off a couple of sleds later. A 4.90s start gave him a 0.05s advantage on Wyatt, but a slight skid in Omega quickly turned that lead to a 0.14s disadvantage. However, impeccable form in the bottom half gave him the fastest speed at the bottom to close that gap to one tenth. 

Keisinger’s teammate Axel Jungk followed with a consistent run right from the start where he was only one hundredth back. While a couple of skids throughout the track prevented him from challenging Wyatt, he still ended up in touching distance – in third, 0.18s back. The third German powerhouse, Grotheer, then sprinted off. His start deficit left him 0.21s back but he slowly started to descend that gap with great form and the top speed halfway through. However, a couple of taps after the Kreisel stabilised that gap to finish in third, 0.14s back.

World Champion and World Cup leader Weston followed a few sleds later. A 0.03s lead off the start boded well, but a slight skid before Omega and a few toe steer adjustments lower down meant his lead slowly slipped, finishing a respectable 0.08s back in second. Chen Wenhao succeeded Weston, and a very solid looking run with only a few adjustments meant his 0.01s start disadvantage compared to Wyatt only grew to 0.19s by the line to finish in sixth. Chen was very much in contention for his first World Cup medal in over two years.

After run one, less than two tenths covered the top six, all with medal potential. Further back, China’s third slider, Lin Qinwei, flew to a 4.79 start record but fell to tenth.

Run 2

Yin Zheng, who was tied for seventh after run one with Samuel Maier, put up a very clean run to break the tie and lead with six sliders to go. First to follow was his teammate Chen. Chen matched his first run start time exactly and an excellent run with just a slight skid in the last few corners meant he increased his gap over his teammate from a tenth to 0.21s during the run. 

Jungk was next up. 

Jungk immediately fell behind by 0.04s with a slightly slower start but a better top half including a less steery Omega slowly reversing that gap to eventually double his first-run advantage to 0.02s, though a tap in the last few corners meant that 0.02s lead would not grow any further.

Jungk’s teammate Grotheer was next to the start. A tenth slower than Jungk off the start meant he fell to 0.09s behind halfway down, and while slightly better speed incrementally brought the gap down to  0.06s at the penultimate split, it looked as though he would fall behind. However, Grotheer avoided the tap that caught Jungk off to remarkably tie with him at the bottom. 

The final German, Keisinger, used a lightning-fast start to extend his lead to 0.22s. However, his weight disadvantage as well as a double hit in the last few corners meant that lead disappeared and he finished in fourth at 0.15s back with two to go. Weston followed and a similarly fast start also brought him over two tenths up on the Germans,  but a lot of steers in Omega robbed his speed to the ninth best halfway down. While his speeds then started to climb back up, his gap was still reducing and at the line he stunningly also tied for the lead, meaning incredibly a trio of leaders with one athlete to go.

Marcus Wyatt was the last in the clubhouse. A similar start to Weston meant that gap remained at 0.07s but a phenomenal run through Omega extended that gap to a mammoth 0.26s halfway down. Wyatt would eventually cross the line 0.18s up to take his second win of the season.

Wyatt wins in Altenberg with a three-way tie for silver between Weston, Grotheer and Jungk behind and Chen only 0.02s behind them. Great Britain also became the first nation to win every race in a single Skeleton World Cup season. In the overall standings, Matt Weston dominates with top-two finishes in every single race to take his third Crystal Globe in a row, and starts as the hot favourite for the Olympics. Yin Zheng finishes in a solid second overall while Wyatt’s win puts him third ahead of Axel Jungk.

Mixed Team Event – Germany take home win but concern for Grotheer

Germany 2 took the win with the combination of Jungk and Kreher both posting the second-fastest times of their gender. Jungk in particular put up a much cleaner display than his individual race.

Great Britain 2 of Weston and Amelia Coltman claimed the silver at 0.35s back, thanks to the fastest slide of the competition by Weston. This also improved on his individual performance with a run a tenth faster than Jungk’s.

Germany 1 were the last team on course and looked set to claim gold after another phenomenal run from Pfeifer. However, Grotheer had a very uncharacteristically scruffy run, losing over a second to Jungk and dropping the team to bronze at 0.70s back. After his run, Grotheer appeared in visible discomfort, grabbing his hamstring. Hopefully it is not yet another injury for him this season and he will be fit for the Olympic Games in three weeks. 

Results & Standings

Women

Women	Slider	Country	Time	Gap
1	Jacqueline Pfeifer	Germany	1:54.42
2	Susanne Kreher	Germany	1:54.75	+0.33s
3	Kim Meylemans	Belgium	1:54.76	+0.34s
4	Kimberly Bos	Netherlands	1:55.10	+0.68s
5	Hannah Neise	Germany	1:55.35	+0.93s
6	Tabitha Stoecker	Great Britain	1:55.43	+1.01s
7	Anna Fernstädt	Belgium	1:55.56	+1.14s
8	Corinna Leipold	Czech Republic	1:55.59	+1.17s
9	Freya Tarbit	Great Britain	1:55.68	+1.26s
10	Zhao Dan	China	1:55.82	+1.40s

Full results: Here

Women	Slider	Country	Points	Gap
1	Kim Meylemans	Belgium	1443
2	Jacqueline Pfeifer	Germany	1338	-105
3	Tabitha Stoecker	Great Britain	1236	-207
4	Anna Fernstädt	Czech Republic	1162	-281
5	Janine Flock	Austria	1102	-341
6	Susanne Kreher	Germany	1082	-361
7	Hannah Neise	Germany	1042	-401
8	Kimberly Bos	Netherlands	1037	-406
9	Nicole Silveira	Brazil	944	-499
10	Amelia Coltman	Great Britain	944	-499

Men

Men	Slider	Country	Time	Gap
1	Marcus Wyatt	Great Britain	1:50.47
2	Matt Weston	Great Britain	1:50.65	+0.18s
3	Christopher Grotheer	Germany	1:50.65	+0.18s
4	Axel Jungk	Germany	1:50.65	+0.18s
5	Chen Wenhao	China	1:50.67	+0.20s
6	Felix Keisinger	Germany	1:50.80	+0.33s
7	Yin Zheng	China	1:50.88	+0.41s
8	Samuel Maier	Austria	1:51.14	+0.67s
9	Rasmus Johansen	Denmark	1:51.26	+0.79s
10	Kim Jisoo	South Korea	1:51.46	+0.99s

Full results: Here

Men	Slider	Country	Points	Gap
1	Matt Weston	Great Britain	1545
2	Yin Zheng	China	1328	-217
3	Marcus Wyatt	Great Britain	1276	-269
4	Axel Jungk	Germany	1252	-293
5	Samuel Maier	Austria	1098	-447
6	Jung Seunggi	South Korea	1080	-465
7	Chen Wenhao	China	1080	-465
8	Amedeo Bagnis	Italy	1078	-467
9	Christopher Grotheer	Germany	1048	-497
10	Felix Keisinger	Germany	1008	-537

Mixed Team Event

Team	Sliders	Country	Time	Gap
1	Susanne Kreher / Axel Jungk	Germany 2	1:58.21
2	Amelia Coltman / Matt Weston	Great Britain 2	1:58.56	+0.35s
3	Jacqueline Pfeifer / Christopher Grotheer	Germany 1	1:58.91	+0.70s
4	Kelly Curtis / Austin Florian	United States 1	1:59.31	+1.10s
5	Freya Tarbit / Marcus Wyatt	Great Britain 1	1:59.40	+1.19s
6	Zhao Dan / Lin Qinwei	China 1	1:59.60	+1.39s

Full results: Here

Next Up: The Olympic Games!

The big one is up next. The Skeleton events in Cortina start in just under four weeks from 12 to 15 February. See you there!