2012/2013 FIBT World Cup – Round 6 – Women’s Skeleton

From Altenberg, Germany

Marion Thees battled through rain, standing water and whatever else Altenberg could throw at her to score gold in Round 6 of the FIBT World Cup. The German edged Katie Uhlaender by .01, while Uhlaender’s American teammate Noelle Pikus-Pace took bronze. Lizzy Yarnold jumped up a spot to fourth after a rough run by last year’s winner Anja Huber left Huber in fifth.

Track conditions deteriorated quickly, and that gave a slight advantage to some of the earlier sliders. The big jump in position came from Great Britain’s Donna Creighton, who came into the second heat in 15th, but after a big second run leapfrogged a crowd of sliders and gave her a seventh place result. Her teammate Shelley Rudman wasn’t as lucky. Rudman’s been fighting a flu, and that coupled with the weather gave Rudman a dismal 17th place finish.

Conditions also played a role in a tough day for the Canadians, with Cassie Hawrysh leading the way in 8th. A couple small bumps in the rain scrubbed a ton of speed off for Hawrysh’s teammates, with Sarah Reid finishing 18th and Mellisa Hollingsworth 19th.

Results:

Pos	Name	Nation	Draw	Run 1	Run 2	Total
1	Marion Thees	GER	10	60.35	62.24	2:02.59
2	Katie Uhlaender	USA	4	60.12	62.48	2:02.60
3	Noelle Pikus-Pace	USA	2	60.40	62.47	2:02.87
4	Elizabeth Yarnold	GBR	7	60.44	62.49	2:02.93
5	Anja Huber	GER	6	60.29	62.86	2:03.15
6	Janine Flock	AUT	12	60.96	62.23	2:03.19
7	Donna Creighton	GBR	13	61.66	61.65	2:03.31
8	Cassie Hawrysh	CAN	5	60.86	62.51	2:03.37
9	Sophia Griebel	GER	15	61.32	62.30	2:03.62
10	Michelle Steele	AUS	11	61.36	62.28	2:03.64
11	Svetlana Vasilyeva	RUS	17	61.65	62.47	2:04.12
12	Lelde Priedulena	LAT	18	61.88	62.30	2:04.18
13	Lucy Chaffer	AUS	3	61.42	62.79	2:04.21
14	Olga Nikandrova	RUS	19	62.09	62.42	2:04.51
15	Joska Le Conte	NED	16	62.30	62.25	2:04.55
16	Katharine Eustace	NZL	14	61.98	62.64	2:04.62
17	Shelley Rudman	GER	9	61.02	63.60	2:04.62
18	Sarah Reid	CAN	8	61.58	63.18	2:04.76
19	Mellisa Hollingsworth	CAN	1	60.72	64.14	2:04.86
20	Olga Korobkina	RUS	20	62.98	63.07	2:06.05
21	Delia Ivas	ROU	21	64.60