From Lake Placid, USA
Nov. 20, 2019 – It had been a full season since Katie Uhlaender had taken to the ice in an IBSF competition, but the 2012 World Champion showed that there was no rust on her on her way to a gold medal in the North American Cup opener.
The American was quick off the top with a pair of top-five pushes, and by the exit of Curve 14 had the lead in both heats on her way to a .62 victory over Czechia’s Anna Fernstädt. Australia’s Jackie Narracott finished third as the only other woman within a second of Uhlaender’s time.
Uhlaneder has dominated in her few North American Cup starts, with five gold medals in her five starts scattered across a decade.
Already Czechia’s most decorated women’s skeleton athlete, Fernstädt’s silver medal continued a streak of top-six finishes dating all the way back to the Altenberg World Cup stop in January of 2018, covering a myriad of events including the PyeongChang Olympic Games.
Narracott’s bronze medal was her 11th top six finish and sixth medal in North American Cup action.
Agathe Bessard finished fourth in her first North American Cup race, while American Mystique Ro finished fifth, and Puerto Rico’s Kellie Delka finished sixth.
The United States’ Michelle Toukan finished eighth, while Lauren McDonald rounded out a solid showing for the United States in tenth.
The Canadian women struggled to start the season, with Natalie Coughlin leading the way in 16th place. Janelle Khan and Grace Dafoe finished 22nd and 23rd respectively.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Katie Uhlaender | USA | 8 | 5.40 | 5.41 | 55.25 | 55.56 | 1:50.81 |
| 2 | Anna Fernstädt | CZE | 5 | 5.61 | 5.66 | 55.61 | 55.82 | 1:51.43 |
| 3 | Jaclyn Narracott | AUS | 9 | 5.42 | 5.42 | 55.61 | 56.07 | 1:51.68 |
| 4 | Agathe Bessard | FRA | 10 | 5.75 | 5.61 | 55.85 | 55.98 | 1:51.83 |
| 5 | Mystique Ro | USA | 14 | 5.22 | 5.22 | 56.05 | 55.90 | 1:51.95 |
| 6 | Kellie Delka | PUR | 4 | 5.46 | 5.47 | 55.69 | 56.31 | 1:52.00 |
| 7 | Stefanie Votz | GER | 22 | 5.94 | 5.95 | 56.52 | 56.26 | 1:52.78 |
| 8 | Michelle Toukan | USA | 13 | 5.42 | 5.44 | 56.27 | 56.57 | 1:52.84 |
| 9 | Leslie Stratton | SWE | 12 | 5.59 | 5.69 | 56.62 | 56.56 | 1:53.18 |
| 10 | Lauren McDonald | USA | 23 | 5.25 | 5.33 | 56.26 | 57.06 | 1:53.32 |
| 11 | Nicole Silveira | BRA | 7 | 5.50 | 5.51 | 56.21 | 57.53 | 1:53.74 |
| 12 | Yuxi Li | CHN | 18 | 5.39 | 5.44 | 57.21 | 56.89 | 1:54.10 |
| 13 | Min Huang | CHN | 17 | 5.37 | 5.38 | 57.44 | 56.83 | 1:54.27 |
| 14 | Danxia Yang | CHN | 6 | 5.43 | 5.44 | 57.21 | 57.18 | 1:54.39 |
| 15 | Xiaojiao Du | CHN | 20 | 5.95 | 5.96 | 57.32 | 57.23 | 1:54.55 |
| 16 | Natalie Coughlin | CAN | 26 | 5.43 | 5.44 | 52.87 | 57.38 | 1:54.70 |
| 17 | Carolin Andrae | SUI | 3 | 5.72 | 5.74 | 57.28 | 58.02 | 1:55.30 |
| 18 | Eunji Kim | KOR | 16 | 5.52 | 5.51 | 57.24 | 58.47 | 1:55.71 |
| 19 | Audra Segree | JAM | 2 | 5.47 | 5.56 | 57.42 | 59.44 | 1:56.86 |
| 20 | Paige Alford | FRA | 24 | 5.78 | 5.82 | 58.33 | 59.18 | 1:57.51 |
| 21 | Jeonghyeok Lee | KOR | 1 | 5.54 | 58.38 | |||
| 22 | Janelle Khan | CAN | 11 | 5.41 | 58.52 | |||
| 23 | Grace Dafoe | CAN | 15 | 5.61 | 58.53 | |||
| 24 | Laura Vargas | COL | 21 | 6.26 | 59.90 | |||
| 25 | Akane Jin | JPN | 19 | 5.68 | 61.95 | |||
| DNS | Seokju Yang | KOR | 25 | DNS |
