Austin Florian during a race run in Winterberg, Germany last weekend.

Photo credit: Getty Images

ST MORITZ, Switzerland (January 14, 2022) – Austin Florian (Southington, Conn.) was the top American in this morning’s men’s skeleton World Cup finale in St. Moritz after finishing 18th. Andrew Blaser (Meridian, Idaho) finished 26th.

Florian was in 20th position after a first run time of 1:08.28, but the 16th ranked downtime of 1:08.18 in the second heat moved him up two spots. He finished 18th with a combined time of 2:16.46. This is Florian’s best result of the season, and the best World Cup finish by an American men’s skeleton athlete this season.

Blaser missed the top-20 cutoff for the final heat with the 26th ranked time of 1:08.47.

The U.S. has one quota spot in the men’s skeleton competition at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The USA Skeleton Olympic Team will be named tomorrow.

Martins Dukurs from Latvia was back on top of the podium today, winning with a two-run total of 2:14.39. Germany’s Alexander Gassner claimed the silver medal in 2:14.84, and his teammate Christopher Grotheer took bronze in 2:14.90.

Dukurs was crowned the overall World Cup champion today. German Axel Jungk finished the season ranked second, and Grotheer finished third. Florian finished out the season ranked 23rd, followed by John Daly, who did not race in the last three competitions, in 24th. Blaser raced on the Intercontinental Cup tour this season and was called up to the World Cup midseason. He competed in three World Cup races and is ranked 33rd.

Racing continues tomorrow with the women’s monobob competition at 9 a.m. local time, followed by the two-man bobsled race at 1 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. Martins Dukurs (LAT) 2:14.39 (1:07.01, 1:07.38);

2. Alexander Gassner (GER) 2:14.84 (1:07.46, 1:07.38);

3. Christopher Grotheer (GER) 2:14.90 (1:07.43, 1:07.47);

18. Austin Florian (USA) 2:16.46 (1:08.28, 1:08.18);

26. Andrew Blaser (USA) (1:08.47, 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.

Florian posts best World Cup finish by an American men’s skeleton athlete this season in finale

Loading...

Loading...