From Igls, AUT
Jan. 17, 2020 – Coming into the second heat of women’s skeleton everyone knew someone would have to do something special to win gold. The top four women were separated by only .05, meaning one small mistake could leave someone out of the medals, while one big slide could put them at the top.
Jacqueline Lölling had the one big slide of the group, setting a track record on her second run to move from fourth in the first heat to get her second gold medal of the season, edging out Janine Flock of Austria on her home ice.
Both Lölling and Flock were under the track record time set earlier in the heat by Kimberley Murray of Great Britain.
The United States’ Megan Henry finished third for her first ever IBSF World Cup medal on a track she’s traditionally been good on. Of Henry’s time on the Intercontinental Cup circuit, five of her top six finishes have come in Igls.
Elena Nikitina finshed fourth, just ahead of Tina Hermann in fifth. Hermann’s teammate Susanne Kreher finished sixth in her first World Cup start after winning three of the first four Intercontinental Cup races of the season.
With her win, Lölling opened up a 22 point lead over Flock, while Nikitina sits third.
Prior to Lölling’s run, Kimberley Murray had broken the track record held previously by Tina Hermann. That effort catapulted her up to eighth from 16th after the first heat. Behind her, Madelaine Smith finished 11th, up from 12th in the first run. Teammate Laura Deas’ struggles this season continued, finishing 19th.
The United States’ Kendall Wesenberg finished 14th after two good drives down the Austrian track, a handful of spots ahead of teammate Savannah Graybill, who moved up to 18th from 19th in the second heat.
Mimi Rahneva led the way for Canada, finishing just out of the top six in seventh place. Jane Channell put down two of the strongest starts of the competition on her way to a 13th place finish, while Madi Charney finished 17th.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Jacqueline Lölling | GER | 6 | 5.57 | 5.52 | 53.82 | 53.62 | 1:47.44 |
| 2 | Janine Flock | AUT | 9 | 5.51 | 5.53 | 53.77 | 53.69 | 1:47.46 |
| 3 | Megan Henry | USA | 10 | 5.36 | 5.37 | 53.80 | 53.90 | 1:47.70 |
| 4 | Elena Nikitina | RUS | 13 | 5.19 | 5.21 | 53.79 | 54.05 | 1:47.84 |
| 5 | Tina Hermann | GER | 4 | 5.54 | 5.50 | 54.04 | 53.93 | 1:47.97 |
| 6 | Susanne Kreher | GER | 15 | 5.59 | 5.51 | 54.07 | 53.95 | 1:48.02 |
| 7 | Mirela Rahneva | CAN | 8 | 5.42 | 5.38 | 54.10 | 53.93 | 1:48.03 |
| 8 | Kimberley Murray | GBR | 25 | 5.52 | 5.44 | 54.37 | 53.70 | 1:48.07 |
| 9 | Valentina Margaglio | ITA | 21 | 5.32 | 5.31 | 54.10 | 53.99 | 1:48.09 |
| 10 | Marina Gilardoni | SUI | 5 | 5.45 | 5.41 | 54.18 | 54.00 | 1:48.18 |
| 11 | Madelaine Smith | GBR | 14 | 5.49 | 5.45 | 54.23 | 54.23 | 1:48.46 |
| 12 | Kim Meylemans | BEL | 12 | 5.51 | 5.52 | 54.34 | 54.13 | 1:48.47 |
| 13 | Jane Channell | CAN | 16 | 5.29 | 5.31 | 54.16 | 54.36 | 1:48.52 |
| 14 | Kendall Wesenberg | USA | 11 | 5.69 | 5.72 | 54.31 | 54.28 | 1:48.59 |
| 15 | Jaclyn Narracott | AUS | 3 | 5.57 | 5.61 | 54.44 | 54.24 | 1:48.68 |
| 16 | Huiyang Lin | CHN | 22 | 5.50 | 5.44 | 54.19 | 54.54 | 1:48.73 |
| 17 | Madison Charney | CAN | 20 | 5.52 | 5.55 | 54.32 | 54.44 | 1:48.76 |
| 18 | Savannah Graybill | USA | 18 | 5.60 | 5.60 | 54.46 | 54.38 | 1:48.84 |
| 19 | Laura Deas | GBR | 17 | 5.48 | 5.53 | 54.40 | 54.58 | 1:48.98 |
| 20 | Anna Fernstädt | CZE | 7 | 5.68 | 5.75 | 54.54 | 54.55 | 1:49.09 |
| 21 | Renata Khuzina | RUS | 19 | 5.50 | 54.55 | |||
| 22 | Yulia Kanakina | RUS | 1 | 5.29 | 54.61 | |||
| 23 | Leslie Stratton | SWE | 24 | 5.63 | 54.91 | |||
| 24 | Kimberley Bos | NED | 2 | 5.86 | 55.17 | |||
| 25 | Kellie Delka | PUR | 23 | 5.64 | 55.42 |
