From Winterberg, GER
(January 6, 2023) – They call Winterberg “the Dutch Alps” due to its proximity to the Netherlands. So it’s only appropriate that Dutch slider Kimberley Bos would win gold on what’s her home track.
Canada’s Mimi Rahneva held a .08 second advantage going into the second heat on a very rainy sliding track. On her second run, Bos was able to hold her position despite a race-fastest effort by Hannah Neise on her second effort.
That put Rahneva in between Bos and her third career World Cup gold medal.
Rahneva’s start was quick, and throughout the first half of her run she held the slightest of advantages. Despite no visible issues with her slide, Rahneva fell back late, and as she crossed the line found herself .06 behind Bos, enough to win silver.
The gold for Bos was not only her third career gold but her third straight in Winterberg. For Rahneva, her silver medal was her second medal of the season and her seventh straight top five finish on the German track.
Neise’s second run was the quickest of the competition by .15 and plenty enough to give the Olympic gold medalist her second World Cup medal with a bronze.
Neise’s bronze came at the expense of World Cup leader Tina Hermann, who was edged out of the medals by just .06. Austria’s Janine Flock finished fifth in her return to competition from back surgery, while Susanne Kreher finished sixth after entering the second heat in 13th place.
Like Kreher, Kim Meylemans threw down a huge second run to land in the top ten. Sliding while rehabbing from an injury suffered in pre-season training, she put down a monster second run that would have been the quickest in the first heat. Her 58.51 second run was enough to catapult her up from 18th to ninth.
Kelly Curtis led the way for the United States in 11th place on a very inconsistent track. Kendall Wesenberg finished 16th, her best finish in Winterberg in three races and one spot ahead of teammate Hallie Clarke in 17th. Clarke made her first career start on the track in Winterberg at any level.
Great Britain sent out what, in theory, was their “B squad”, and the duo of Freya Tarbit and Tabitha Stoecker showed that they’re ready to go whenever called upon. Tarbit finished seventh after entering the second heat in 12th place. Stoecker finished 12th, up from 14th in her first run.
Jane Channell seemed to take her second run in what was the rainiest part of a rainy evening, and the Canadian fell from eighth to tenth as a result. Teammate Jaclyn LaBerge finished 21st, the same finishing position as her last race in Winterberg.
At the halfway point of the 2022/2023 World Cup skeleton season, Tina Hermann leads teammate Hannah Neise in the World Cup standings, with Mimi Rahneva and Kimberley Bos in third and fourth, respectively. German Susanne Kreher and American Kelly Curtis round out the top six athletes in the overall rankings.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Kimberley Bos | NED | 12 | 5.33 | 5.33 | 58.68 | 58.50 | 1:57.18 |
| 2 | Mirela Rahneva | CAN | 4 | 5.41 | 5.36 | 58.60 | 58.64 | 1:57.24 |
| 3 | Hannah Neise | GER | 11 | 5.53 | 5.53 | 58.82 | 58.32 | 1:57.34 |
| 4 | Tina Hermann | GER | 10 | 5.56 | 5.54 | 58.71 | 58.69 | 1:57.40 |
| 5 | Janine Flock | AUT | 20 | 5.44 | 5.48 | 59.02 | 58.66 | 1:57.68 |
| 6 | Susanne Kreher | GER | 13 | 5.37 | 5.37 | 59.25 | 58.47 | 1:57.72 |
| 7 | Freya Tarbit | GBR | 19 | 5.37 | 5.42 | 59.22 | 58.83 | 1:58.05 |
| 8 | Valentina Margaglio | ITA | 3 | 5.24 | 5.19 | 59.00 | 59.08 | 1:58.08 |
| 9 | Kim Meylemans | BEL | 21 | 5.54 | 5.54 | 59.62 | 58.51 | 1:58.13 |
| 10 | Jane Channell | CAN | 14 | 5.30 | 5.35 | 59.08 | 59.12 | 1:58.20 |
| 11 | Kelly Curtis | USA | 9 | 5.45 | 5.44 | 59.03 | 59.28 | 1:58.31 |
| 12 | Tabitha Stoecker | GBR | 2 | 5.30 | 5.31 | 59.30 | 59.02 | 1:58.32 |
| 13 | Dan Zhao | CHN | 17 | 5.42 | 5.44 | 59.56 | 58.85 | 1:58.41 |
| 14 | Nicole Silveira | BRA | 6 | 5.51 | 5.53 | 59.20 | 59.26 | 1:58.46 |
| 15 | Anna Fernstädt | CZE | 5 | 5.65 | 5.71 | 59.33 | 59.19 | 1:58.52 |
| 16 | Kendall Wesenberg | USA | 8 | 5.67 | 5.70 | 59.57 | 59.13 | 1:58.70 |
| 17 | Hallie Clarke | USA | 7 | 5.33 | 5.43 | 59.19 | 59.53 | 1:58.72 |
| 18 | Yuxi Li | CHN | 1 | 5.46 | 5.55 | 59.15 | 60.24 | 1:59.39 |
| 19 | Agathe Bessard | FRA | 15 | 5.61 | 5.68 | 59.98 | 59.44 | 1:59.42 |
| 20 | Alessia Crippa | ITA | 18 | 5.36 | 5.42 | 60.01 | 59.72 | 1:59.73 |
| 21 | Jaclyn LaBerge | CAN | 16 | 5.72 | 60.18 |
