From Lake Placid, USA
(March 6, 2025) – A few hours after a dominating performance in the men’s side of things for the IBSF skeleton world championships, the women are locked in a tight battle after two runs in the women’s skeleton world championships.
Kim Meylemans led Mystique Ro after one run by just .06. Behind them, Kimberley Bos, Tabitha Stoecker, and Anna Fernstädt were all within a quarter of a second, with the top 12 all separated by less than a half of a second.
In the second heat the sun went down, the track sped up, and there were comers and goers all throughout the field.
China’s Dan Zhao was 13th after the first heat. Her second effort wasn’t just quicker than her first, but the fastest of the day on the women’s side as she took the lead and held it for a half dozen sleds on her way to what would be a sixth place pair of runs overnight.
Eventually Brazil’s Nicole Silveira took over the lead from seventh place after the first heat. While she only stayed in the leader’s box long enough to watch Hallie Clarke take over, her run was enough to move her up the leaderboard as well.
Fernstädt’s second run was over .3 quicker as she took over from Clarke, but then watched as Tabitha Stoecker struggled in her second run to drop down the leaderboard.
Bos was next, and while her second run couldn’t match the blistering pace set by Zhao, it was the quickest of the medal contenders after the first heat and enough to move into the lead by .19 ahead of Fernstädt.
Ro was unable to match her first heat form, but slid well enough to stay within .33 of Bos with only Meylemans to go of the leaders.
Meylemans pushed off .05 slower than her first effort, and couldn’t quite match her first run pace. She fell down the leaderboard and ended her run .42 behind Bos.
That handed Bos the overnight lead by .19 over Fernstädt, .22 ahead of Clarke in third, with Ro and Silveira tied for fourth, .33 out of the lead.
“I thought if I could put down two good runs today I’d have a shot at the lead,” Bos said after the second run. “I’m always fast when I’m sliding well. But training was up and down, so the challenge was to put two good runs together, and I did!”
The United States placed two sliders in the top ten overnight, with Kelly Curtis sitting ninth, up from 11th in the first heat. Katie Uhlaender finished the day in 12th.
The British women couldn’t quite put two runs together in the first two heats. Tabitha Stoecker had a bumpy second run and fell to 14th from fourth, one spot ahead of teammate Amelia Coltman in 15th. Freya Tarbit finished the first day of sliding in 20th, up from 23rd in the first heat.
Canada’s Jane Channell sits 13th after two runs.
Results After Two Runs
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | WC Rank | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Kimberley Bos | NED | 2 | 2 | 5.28 | 5.29 | 55.63 | 55.24 | 1:50.87 |
| 2 | Anna Fernstädt | CZE | 13 | 11 | 5.42 | 5.49 | 55.69 | 55.37 | 1:51.06 |
| 3 | Hallie Clarke | CAN | 14 | 17 | 5.29 | 5.33 | 55.72 | 55.37 | 1:51.09 |
| 4 | Nicole Silveira | BRA | 3 | 6 | 5.35 | 5.36 | 55.76 | 55.44 | 1:51.20 |
| 4 | Mystique Ro | USA | 11 | 12 | 5.16 | 5.15 | 55.53 | 55.67 | 1:51.20 |
| 6 | Dan Zhao | CHN | 12 | 10 | 5.33 | 5.30 | 56.19 | 55.08 | 1:51.27 |
| 7 | Kim Meylemans | BEL | 7 | 13 | 5.23 | 5.28 | 55.47 | 55.82 | 1:51.29 |
| 8 | Yuxi Li | CHN | 19 | 19 | 5.22 | 5.28 | 55.80 | 55.52 | 1:51.32 |
| 9 | Kelly Curtis | USA | 18 | 20 | 5.34 | 5.34 | 55.89 | 55.44 | 1:51.33 |
| 10 | Janine Flock | AUT | 1 | 1 | 5.38 | 5.44 | 55.82 | 55.64 | 1:51.46 |
| 11 | Susanne Kreher | GER | 9 | 9 | 5.35 | 5.34 | 56.14 | 55.46 | 1:51.60 |
| 12 | Katie Uhlaender | USA | 20 | 18 | 5.44 | 5.49 | 55.90 | 55.75 | 1:51.65 |
| 13 | Jane Channell | CAN | 15 | 15 | 5.19 | 5.21 | 55.85 | 55.85 | 1:51.70 |
| 14 | Tabitha Stoecker | GBR | 8 | 7 | 5.17 | 5.19 | 55.65 | 56.11 | 1:51.76 |
| 15 | Amelia Coltman | GBR | 5 | 4 | 5.35 | 5.39 | 56.17 | 55.98 | 1:52.15 |
| 16 | Jacqueline Pfeifer | GER | 6 | 5 | 5.44 | 5.50 | 56.44 | 55.72 | 1:52.16 |
| 17 | Valentina Margaglio | ITA | 17 | 16 | 5.20 | 5.16 | 56.20 | 56.29 | 1:52.49 |
| 18 | Hannah Neise | GER | 4 | 3 | 5.46 | 5.50 | 56.50 | 56.10 | 1:52.60 |
| 19 | Alessia Crippa | ITA | 21 | 22 | 5.24 | 5.31 | 56.54 | 56.24 | 1:52.78 |
| 20 | Freya Tarbit | GBR | 10 | 8 | 5.40 | 5.40 | 56.84 | 56.30 | 1:53.14 |
| 21 | Julia Erlacher | AUT | 16 | 31 | 5.18 | 5.25 | 56.46 | 56.69 | 1:53.15 |
| 22 | Kellie Delka | PUR | 24 | 33 | 5.52 | 5.59 | 56.47 | 56.76 | 1:53.23 |
| 23 | Aline Pelckmans | BEL | 26 | 30 | 5.60 | 5.61 | 56.73 | 56.53 | 1:53.26 |
| 24 | Julia Simmchen | SUI | 23 | 28 | 5.68 | 5.62 | 57.12 | 56.38 | 1:53.50 |
| 25 | Sara Schmied | SUI | 22 | 24 | 5.35 | 5.36 | 57.19 | 56.83 | 1:54.02 |
| 26 | Laura Vargas | COL | 25 | 38 | 5.68 | 5.70 | 57.46 | 57.19 | 1:54.65 |
| 27 | Clara Aznar | ESP | 27 | 42 | 5.54 | 5.58 | 58.18 | 57.24 | 1:55.42 |
| 28 | Shannon Galea | MLT | 29 | 43 | 5.75 | 5.87 | 59.31 | 59.21 | 1:58.52 |