Photo credit: IBSF

WINTERBERG, Germany (November 20, 2021) – Women’s skeleton athlete Mystique Ro (Nokesville, Va.) claimed a silver medal in Winterberg’s European Cup race yesterday, just one week after winning her first career European Cup medal in Lillehammer, Norway last week.

Ro had a bumpy start to the season after crashing in the opening European Cup race of the season in Lillehammer last week, but she rebounded with a silver medal performance the following day. Ro carried that momentum over to the second stop of the series in Winterberg by claiming the silver medal yesterday.

Ro clocked identical start times of 5.06 seconds for the second fastest runs of 54.04 and 53.80 seconds. The only competitor to post a faster start time was Freya Tarbit from Great Britain, who pushed starts of 5.04 and 5.05. Ro claimed the silver medal with a total time of 1:47.84. 

Yuxi Li from China had a large lead of 0.84 seconds, winning with a two-run total of 1:47.00. Germany’s Sarah Wimmer was third in 1:48.34. 

Ro narrowly missed the medals today. She was in third place with a downtime of 58.46 seconds, but she fell back a spot after posting the ninth fastest run of 59.09 in the final heat. She posted the fastest start time of 5.27 seconds in the second run, and finished fourth with a total time of 1:57.55. 

Li swept the women’s races with a combined time of 1:56.84. Wimmer finished second with an aggregate time of 1:57.09, followed by Yangqi Zhu from China in third with a two-run total of 1:57.27.

This was Michelle Toukan’s (Central City, Neb.) first time racing in Europe. She finished 16th and 18th.

Hunter Williams (Carnegie, Penn.) was the only U.S. entry in the men’s skeleton races. He finished 25th yesterday and 26th today.

Zheng Yin completed a Chinese sweep of the medals by winning both men’s races. He was victorious yesterday with a total time of  1:55.34, and again today with a time of 1:53.96.

Germany’s Cedric Renner and Stefan Roettig completed the podium each day. Renner claimed double silver medals, while Roettig earned double bronze.

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

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Results

Women’s skeleton race #1 (11/12)

1. Yuxi Li (CHN) 1:47.00 (53.33, 53.67);

2. Mystique Ro (USA) 1:47.84 (54.04, 53.80);

3. Sarah Wimmer (GER) 1:48.34 (54.06, 54.28);

18. Michelle Toukan (USA) 2:02.94 (1:01.51, 1:01.43);

Women’s skeleton race #2 (11/20)

1. Yuxi Li (CHN) 1:56.84 (58.35, 58.49);

2. Sarah Wimmer (USA) 1:57.09 (58.40, 58.69);

3. Yangqi Zhu (CHN) 1:57.27 (58.48, 58.79);

4. Mystique Ro (USA) 1:57.55 (58.46, 59.09);

16. Michelle Toukan (USA) 1:59.16 (59.51, 59.65);

Men’s skeleton race #1 (11/19)

1. Zheng Yin (CHN) 1:55.34 (57.81, 57.53);

2. Cedric Renner (GER) 1:55.57 (57.90, 57.67);

3. Stefan Roettig (GER) 1:55.90 (57.99, 57.91);

25. Hunter Williams (USA) (1:00.48, DNS);

Men’s skeleton race #2 (11/20)

1. Zheng Yin (CHN) 1:53.96 (57.27, 56.69);

2. Cedric Renner (GER) 1:53.99 (57.03, 56.96);

3. Stefan Roettig (GER) 1:54.40 (57.12, 57.28);

26. Hunter Williams (USA) (59.25, 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.