Skeletonibsfsliding #calgary #nikitina rusbob #wc
Viesturs Lacis | IBSF
In Calgary, Alberta last weekend the last two races of the Skeleton World Cup season were staged. The Russians Alexander Tretiakov and Elena Nikitina triumphed in their respective final classifications, giving Russia the first Crystal Ball in the history of the female skeleton.
Monday 25 February 2019 4 minutes reading time
A fourth and fifth place in Calgary were enough for the 26-year-old from Moscow to secure the first career World Cup. The Russian rival Jacqueline Loelling, who due to serious family problems, was forced to return to Germany, thus leaving the field open to the rival.
The two Canadian races have had as great protagonists the home athlete Mirela Rahneva and the Teutonic Tina Hermann who took turns on the first two steps of the podium. Rahneva won the first race ahead of the German of 46 cents, but Hermann was the protagonist of a spectacular comeback in race two that allowed her to recover from fourth to first place. On the podium, Elisabeth Vathje-Maier and the British Laura Deas returned to the top of the table after a season characterized by many physical problems.
Thanks to these successes both Hermann and Rahneva have made a big leap forward in the final standings of the World Cup, placing themselves respectively in second and third position behind Elena Nikitina. The Russian who has always been noted for its excellent pressures, this season has found a consistency of unprecedented performance that has seen her get on the podium 5 times out of 8 events. Nikitina adds a new important milestone to his career, whose palmares include an Olympic bronze medal, a world bronze and two European titles.
The two men's competitions were very exciting, as they faced the two main contenders for the World Cup: the Russian Tretiakov and the South Korean Yun. The two protagonists of the season have exchanged positions in both tests, with the Russian who preceded in race 1 the Olympic champion in charge of just 13 cents, and with the 'Asian that in the last year's competition has beaten the rival by only 6 cents.
By virtue of these results Alexander Tretiakov won his second Crystal Ball of his career after 10 years. The Olympic champion of Sochi 2014 closed with 14 points on the Yun margin, while the legendary Martins Dukurs, third and fourth in Calgary, climbed to the third of the general.
At the last seasonal appointment also took part the Italian-Canadian Joseph Cecchini who gave himself the best performance of the year coming in 14th position.
After the World Cup season, the main protagonists of the skeleton will move to Whistler where from next weekend they will compete for the World Championships.
IBSFSLIDING #CALGARY #NIKITINA RUSBOB #WC
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