Katie Uhlaender during a training run in Altenberg this week.
 Photo credit: IBSF / Viesturs Lacis

ALTENBERG, Germany (December 17, 2021) – Katie Uhlaender (Breckenridge, Colo.) was the top American in the women’s skeleton World Cup in Altenberg today after finishing 15th. Kelly Curtis (Princeton, N.J.) was 17th, and Megan Henry (Roxbury, Conn.) finished 22nd. 

“I had a rough week of training,” Uhlaender said. “I was helping a family friend deal with a death, so I just fell off. I also hit before corner one on the first heat which caused a skid into two. With how slow the ice was, that was hard to come back from. It was a better second run, but I didn’t feel like myself this week.”

Uhlaender had the 16th best start time of 5.70 seconds in the first heat, and she crossed the finish line with the 17th ranked downtime of 1:01.08. The four-time Olympian had a much improved second heat. She bettered her start to 5.67 seconds, and crossed the finish line 0.64 seconds faster than her first run. Uhlaender gained two spots to finish 15th with a two-run total of 2:01.52.

Curtis, who serves in the Air Force World Class Athlete Program, clocked a combined time of 2:02.17 for 17th place. She clocked start times of 5.70 and 5.76 for runs of 1:00.98 and 1:01.19, respectively.

Henry, a member of the Army World Class Athlete Program, had the 10th best start time of 5.60 seconds for the 22nd ranked downtime of 1:01.71. She missed the top-20 cutoff for the final heat by 0.20 seconds.

Tina Hermann claimed gold for the host nation with a combined time of 1:59.03. Italian Valentina Margaglio took silver in 1:59.14, followed by Yulia Kanakina of Russia earned bronze in 1:59.45. 

The Altenberg World Cup continues tomorrow with the women’s monobob competition at 10 a.m., and the two-man bobsled race at 2:30 p.m. Streaming will be available via desktop at olympics.com/en/live/, and via mobile, tablet and connected television platforms on the Olympic Channel app. Check local listings for broadcast times on the Olympic Channel and OlympicChannel.com.

For media inquiries, please contact USABS Marketing and Communications Director Amanda Bird at amanda.bird@usabs.com.

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Results

1. Tina Hermann (GER) 1:59.03 (59.50, 59.53);

2. Valentina Margaglio (ITA) 1:59.14 (59.64, 59.50);

3. Yulia Kanakina (RUS) 1:59.45 (59.54, 59.91);

15. Katie Uhlaender (USA) 2:01.52 (1:01.08, 1:00.44);

17. Kelly Curtis (USA) 2:02.17 (1:01.08, 1:00.44);

22. Megan Henry (USA) (1:01.71, DNS)

About USA Bobsled/Skeleton

USA Bobsled/Skeleton (USABS), based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. For more information, please visit the USABS website at www.usabs.com. Individuals interested in becoming a bobsled or skeleton athlete can visit www.usabobsledskeleton.com.