From St. Moritz, SUI
(January 12, 2024) – Kimberley Bos was the class of the women’s skeleton field in St. Moritz on Friday, as she put down the quickest run in both heats on her way to victory.
The Dutch slider, who a year ago had won a silver medal during the IBSF World Championships, had a .04 second lead over Katie Uhlaender in the American’s return to the World Cup after a two year absence, with Italy’s Valentina Margaglio in third after one run.
As it does in St. Moritz, the track sped up in the second heat and that led to second runs that were far quicker than the first. Margaglio’s second run was .58 quicker in her second run to take the lead from reigning world champion Susanne Kreher with only Uhlaender and Bos to go.
Uhlaender took to the start for the second time of the morning in search of her first World Cup podium in over a decade. Like Margaglio, her second start was .02 quicker than her first. While her second run was quick, the Italian’s was quicker and Uhlaender fell behind Margaglio, but held second place with Bos to go to guarantee her first medal since a silver medal in Sochi during the 2012/2013 season.
Bos was the final slider off the top. In her first heat she’d made a few early mistakes but was clean for most of her run. In her second run she was nearly flawless as she put down a time over a full second quicker than her first on her way to a definitive .73 second victory over Margaglio.
The gold for Bos was her sixth, with gold medals previously in Igls and Winterberg. For Margaglio, the silver was her second of the season and third overall.
Uhlaender’s bronze medal was her 22nd career World Cup medal, and her best finish at the World Cup/World Championship/Olympic level since the 2014 Olympic Games.
Just off the podium stood three Germans. Kreher finished fourth, with Tina Hermann only .04 behind in fifth. Jacqueline Pfeifer finished sixth, just .02 behind Hermann.
Mystique Ro had the two fastest starts of the competition for the United States on her way to a eighth place finish. Teammate Sara Roderick was .65 quicker in her second heat to move up to 15th from 18th in the first heat to round out the American effort.
Hallie Clarke led the way for Canada with an 11th place finish. Her second run was .4 faster than her first, but wasn’t quite enough to pick off Olympic champion Hannah Neise, whose blazing second run moved her up from 13th in the first heat to tenth. Clarke’s Jane Channell finished 17th after entering the second heat in a three-way tie with Italy’s Alessia Crippa and Alessandra Fumagalli.
Grace Dafoe, made her World Cup debut after a decade in the sport and made the second heat with a 25th place run. While the Canadian didn’t move up in the second heat, she did better her first run downtime by nearly .4.
It was a disappointing morning for Great Britain on a track that’s known British greatness over the years. Tabitha Stoecker led the way in 21st place. Amelia Coltman finished 24th, while Freya Tarbit missed the second heat in 28th.
Lichtenstein’s Katharina Eigenmann finished 27th, while the US Virgin Islands’ Katie Tannenbaum finished 31st and Malta’s Shannon Galea finished 33rd.
After four races in the IBSF World Cup women’s skeleton season, Bos leads Margaglio and Hermann in the standings, with Belgium’s Kim Meylemans and China’s Dan Zhao rounding out the top five. Despite missing a race, Austria’s Janine Flock currently sits sixth.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Kimberley Bos | NED | 4 | 5.33 | 5.20 | 69.81 | 68.80 | 2:18.61 |
| 2 | Valentina Margaglio | ITA | 7 | 5.19 | 5.17 | 69.96 | 69.38 | 2:19.34 |
| 3 | Katie Uhlaender | USA | 31 | 5.49 | 5.47 | 69.85 | 69.60 | 2:19.45 |
| 4 | Susanne Kreher | GER | 16 | 5.38 | 5.39 | 70.09 | 69.65 | 2:19.74 |
| 5 | Tina Hermann | GER | 8 | 5.54 | 5.50 | 70.28 | 69.50 | 2:19.78 |
| 6 | Jacqueline Pfeifer | GER | 10 | 5.51 | 5.45 | 70.10 | 69.70 | 2:19.80 |
| 7 | Janine Flock | AUT | 13 | 5.45 | 5.46 | 70.19 | 69.66 | 2:19.85 |
| 8 | Mystique Ro | USA | 20 | 5.16 | 5.15 | 70.11 | 69.86 | 2:19.97 |
| 9 | Dan Zhao | CHN | 12 | 5.33 | 5.34 | 70.09 | 69.91 | 2:20.00 |
| 10 | Hannah Neise | GER | 11 | 5.43 | 5.42 | 70.48 | 69.66 | 2:20.14 |
| 11 | Hallie Clarke | CAN | 17 | 5.34 | 5.31 | 70.39 | 69.99 | 2:20.38 |
| 12 | Nicole Silveira | BRA | 9 | 5.44 | 5.44 | 70.62 | 69.99 | 2:20.61 |
| 13 | Kim Meylemans | BEL | 6 | 5.32 | 5.25 | 70.45 | 70.28 | 2:20.73 |
| 14 | Yuxi Li | CHN | 14 | 5.38 | 5.33 | 70.88 | 69.94 | 2:20.82 |
| 15 | Sara Roderick | USA | 24 | 5.25 | 5.25 | 70.74 | 70.09 | 2:20.83 |
| 16 | Alessia Crippa | ITA | 15 | 5.26 | 5.27 | 70.54 | 70.33 | 2:20.87 |
| 17 | Jane Channell | CAN | 19 | 5.22 | 5.24 | 70.54 | 70.40 | 2:20.94 |
| 18 | Alessandra Fumagalli | ITA | 22 | 5.28 | 5.27 | 70.54 | 70.41 | 2:20.95 |
| 19 | Sara Schmied | SUI | 26 | 5.33 | 5.34 | 70.45 | 70.62 | 2:21.07 |
| 20 | Kellie Delka | PUR | 23 | 5.43 | 5.51 | 70.74 | 70.61 | 2:21.35 |
| 21 | Tabitha Stoecker | GBR | 5 | 5.25 | 5.15 | 70.98 | 70.90 | 2:21.88 |
| 22 | Julia Erlacher | AUT | 1 | 5.30 | 5.31 | 71.12 | 70.83 | 2:21.95 |
| 23 | Julia Simmchen | SUI | 28 | 5.60 | 5.64 | 71.21 | 70.93 | 2:22.14 |
| 24 | Amelia Coltman | GBR | 21 | 5.34 | 5.36 | 70.96 | 71.64 | 2:22.60 |
| 25 | Grace Dafoe | CAN | 32 | 5.52 | 5.55 | 71.61 | 71.23 | 2:22.84 |
| 26 | Anna Fernstädt | CZE | 18 | 5.56 | 71.63 | |||
| 27 | Katharina Eigenmann | LIE | 29 | 5.74 | 71.64 | |||
| 28 | Freya Tarbit | GBR | 25 | 5.37 | 71.78 | |||
| 29 | Anna Saulite | AUT | 30 | 5.60 | 72.06 | |||
| 30 | Ana Torres Quevedo | ESP | 27 | 5.98 | 72.39 | |||
| 31 | Katie Tannenbaum | ISV | 33 | 5.68 | 72.47 | |||
| 32 | Laura Vargas | COL | 3 | 5.68 | 73.09 | |||
| 33 | Shannon Galea | MLT | 2 | 5.83 | 73.33 |
