Rahneva Shatters Track Record in Park City Victory

From Park City, USA

(December 1, 2022) – The 2002 Olympic sliding track in Park City has never been faster than it was on Thursday for the women’s skeleton race. Of the women who took advantage of the speeds, none went faster than Canada’s Mimi Rahneva.

In the first heat it was Rahneva destroying the old track record (49.74 – Noelle Pikus-Pace – Dec. 2013), lowering it to a 49.12. Behind her, Tina Hermann, Kimberley Bos, Susanne Kreher, and Laura Deas were all in the hunt for gold and all well below the old track record.

On the second run Deas made the first move, with the British slider nearly equaling Rahneva’s first run time to move up from fifth to third. After neither Kreher or Bos were able to keep pace with Deas, Germany’s Hermann was able to put down a run that was quick enough to stay ahead of the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, if only by .03.

Rahneva was the last slider down, and while most of the athletes were unable to match their first run’s start time, Rahneva dropped it by a hundredth off the top. Her second run, while not as quick as her first, was still quicker than Hermann’s and enough to win her first race of the World Cup season.

The gold for Rahneva was her fourth, and first since 2019. Her previous wins have come in St. Moritz (twice) and Calgary.

Hermann finished with a silver, .1 back, while Deas took bronze for her best finish since a bronze during the 2018/2019 season.

Germany’s Kreher finished fourth for her best finish in her short World Cup career.  The United States’ Kelly Curtis scored a career-best World Cup finish with a fifth place run, up from sixth in her first heat. Olympic gold medalist Hannah Neise finished sixth.

Defending World Cup champion and 2022 Olympic bronze medalist Kimberley Bos fell from third to seventh in the second run.

The United States put two women in the top ten in Park City, with Hallie Clarke finishing ninth. Kendall Wesenberg put down a second run .14 quicker than her first to hold onto 12th.

Canada’s Jane Channell had the biggest start of the first heat, but a late exit out of Curve 13 bumped her off of her sled. She finished 19th despite a strong second run where she matched the old track record.

Park City has never been faster. The top ten sliders of the first heat broke Noelle Pikus-Pace’s old track record, with Brogan Crowley in 11th after the first heat missing it by only .02. In the second run, Anna Fernstädt also slid under the 49.74 downtime.

Results: