Photo credit: IBSF / Viesturs Lacis

IGLS, Austria (November 26, 2021) – Megan Henry (Roxbury, Conn.) led the U.S. in today’s women’s skeleton World Cup race in Igls with a tie for seventh place. Katie Uhlaender (Breckenridge, Colo.) finished 0.02 seconds behind her teammate in ninth, and Kelly Curtis (Princeton, N.J.) finished 14th.

“The team is starting to pull it together and each week we’ll continue to make improvements on the little things,” said USA Skeleton Head Coach Tuffy Latour. “Every hundredth of a second matters. These were big finishes for these athletes. Megan did a great job moving up from last week, and Katie improved on her second heat. Kelly has done an amazing job competing on her first World Cup tour and handling the new pressure that comes with that.”

Henry started her campaign for the medals with the ninth best start time of 5.37 seconds, and she navigated her way to the finish in 54.26 seconds to tie for the fifth best time of the heat with Austrian Janine Flock. The pair was just 0.05 seconds from a third.

Henry posted a start time of 5.43 in the second heat, and raced to the finish in 54.34 seconds. Flock also clocked a finish time of 54.34 seconds to solidify the tie between the Austrian and American with a two-run total of 1:48.60. Henry and Flock finished seventh.

Uhlaender pushed off the block in 5.45 seconds for a run of 54.37 seconds in the opening heat to put her in 10th position. She clocked a 5.50 start in the second heat, and threaded together an impressive downtime of 54.25 seconds to gain a spot in a tightly packed field. The four-time Olympian finished just 0.02 seconds behind Henry and Flock to secure ninth place with a combined time of 1:48.62.

Curtis, a member of the U.S. Air Force, posted start times of 5.47 seconds in both heats. She and German Tina Hermann were tied for 13th with a downtime of 54.51 seconds after the first heat. Four-time world champion Hermann broke the tie to secure 13th place. Curtis finished 14th with a combined time of 1:49.15.

Elana Nikirina from Russia was victorious with a two-run total of 1:47.83. Kimberly Bos from the Netherlands claimed the silver medal in 1:48.03, followed by Valentina Margaglio from Italy in third with a cumulative time of 1:48.28. Margaglio was in eighth place after the first heat, but rocketed into the medals with the fastest run of the second heat.

Racing continues in Igls 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.

###

Results

1. Elena Nikitina (RUS) 1:47.83 (53.80, 54.03);

2. Kimberly Bos (NED) 1:48.03 (54.03, 54.00);

3. Valentina Margaglio (ITA) 1:48.28 (54.30, 53.98);

7. Megan Henry (USA) 1:48.60 (54.26, 54.34);

9. Katie Uhlaender (USA) 1:48.62 (54.37, 54.25);

14. Kelly Curtis (USA) 1:49.15 (54.51, 54.64);

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.

Henry ties for seventh to lead U.S. in women’s skeleton World Cup this morning

Loading...

Loading...