Uhlaender finishes sixth in her final women’s skeleton World Championships

Photo credit: IBSF

ALTENBERG, Germany (Feb. 12, 2021) – Katie Uhlaender (Breckenridge, Colo.) held back tears at the finish, disappointed that she fell back into sixth place in the women’s skeleton World Championship finale today. Kendall Wesenberg (Modesto, Calif.) finished 19th, and Sara Roderick (Truro, Mass.) was 24th in her World Championship debut.

“I really wanted a top four,” Uhlaender said. “It was the little things. I was a little loose today, but I gave it my all.”

A top four finish in World Championships would have secured a spot on the 2021-2022 national team for Uhlaender. She was in fourth place until the fourth and final run.

“I’m so disappointed,” Uhlaender said. “I wish I could have solidified that spot.”

Uhlaender’s first career World Championships were in 2005, when she finished seventh in Calgary, Canada. Sixteen years later, Uhlaender said that this year will be her last career World Championship appearance.

“I’m happy to be here,” Uhlaender said. “I didn’t expect to come back this season and to be where I am right now.”

Uhlaender nearly matched yesterday’s start times with pushes of 5.66 and 5.63 seconds today. She maintained fourth position with a downtime of 58.60 seconds in the third heat. 

The battle for the medals was down to the hundredth in the fourth and final run. Uhlaender threw down a downtime of 58.83 seconds, but Germany’s Sophia Greibel and Russian Alina Tararychenkova turned it up in the finale. Greibel and Tararychenkova moved ahead of Uhlaender, tying for fourth place. As a result, Uhlaender finished sixth with a four-run combined time of 3:54.88.

“I’m holding back tears,” Uhlaender said. “I had it, it was so close.”

Team Germany secured the gold and silver medals. Tina Hermann moved up from third to win the title with a total time of 3:52.97. Jacquelline Loelling claimed silver in 3:53.08, followed by Russian Elena Nikitina in third with an aggregate time of 3:54.65.

 

Wesenberg posted identical start times of 5.89 seconds in both of today’s runs. She navigated to the finish in 59.07 seconds and 59.46 seconds, and lost some time against the competition on day two. The 2018 Olympian finished 19th with a four-run combined time of  3:57.88. 

Roderick had a much improved push time of 5.55 seconds today, compared to her best push time of 5.61 in yesterday’s opening heat. She raced to the finish in 1:00.09 for a three-run combined time of 3:01.22. Roderick missed the top-20 cutoff for the fourth and final heat, finishing 24th in her debut.

The men’s skeleton finale is up next at 1 p.m. local time/7 a.m. EST. Fans can watch the races on NBCSN, OlympicChannel.com, and the Olympic Channel.

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

Results

1. Tina Hermann (GER) 3:52.97 (58.96, 58.02, 57.96, 58.03);

2. Jacqueline Loelling (GER)  3:53.08 (58.39, 58.35, 58.03, 58.31);

3. Elena Nikitina (RUS) 3:54.65 (58.32, 58.53, 59.03, 58.77);

6. Katie Uhlaender (USA) 3:54.88 (58.62, 58.83, 58.60, 58.83);

19. Kendall Wesenberg (USA) 3:57.88 (59.46, 59.89, 59.07, 59.46);

24. Sara Roderick (USA) 3:01.22 (1:00.77, 1:00.36, 1:00.09, 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.