From Königssee, GER
It wouldn’t be a World Championships in Germany without some snow in the mix, and in the 2017 World Championships women’s skeleton got the brunt of it.
In the first heat, things seemed rather pleasant in Königssee, with track record holder Jacqueline Lölling taking an early lead, .06 ahead of teammate Tina Hermann. Elisabeth Vathje led a pack of women just behind them battling for third as well, making for what seemed like a great second heat.
The second run started, and the first seven women came down with relatively no issue. As Jane Channell came down on her second run, the snow started to fall. Channell took the lead, holding her position after coming into the run in second.
The snow picked up after that, with woman after woman coming down to seemingly worse conditions. Getting the worst of it was Vathje, who despite a clean run came down 2.74 seconds slower than her first trip down, moving her from third to 20th.
After Annie O’Shea came down with a much better run than her first, but still over a second slower, the IBSF jury decided to scrap the heat, making the women’s World Championships a three heat race.
With the second run being scrapped, the race reverted back to the first run, in which Jacqueline Lölling took a .06 second lead over German teammate Tina Hermann. Canadian Elisabeth Vathje goes into Saturday’s final two runs .25 back.
Behind Vathje, there’s a logjam of skeleton athletes, with reigning Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold, Kim Meylemans, Mimi Rahneva, Lelde Pridulena, Anna Fernstädt, and Elena Nikitina all within .2 of third.
Kendall Wesenberg led the way on a tough day for the United States with an 11th place run. Teammates Savannah Graybill and Annie O’Shea finished the one-run heat in 14th and 21st.
Canada fared far better, with both Vathje and Rahneva in the hunt for medals, while Jane Channell will go into the second day in 12th. Channell had been poised to take the lead had the snowy race continued as it was going.
For Great Britain, Lizzy Yarnold hasn’t exactly had her Olympic form she had prior to her season off, but she’s still in the hunt for gold in fourth, just .27 off the lead. Laura Deas sits 13th going into the second day, while Donna Creighton finished 22nd.
With the second run scrapped, the race will continue on Saturday morning with the field going 1-31 like it would on the third run. The top 20 after that will go into the final, deciding heat.
Results After 1 Run:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Run 1 |
| 1 | Jacqueline Lölling | GER | 6 | 5.17 | 52.02 |
| 2 | Tina Hermann | GER | 9 | 5.09 | 52.08 |
| 3 | Elisabeth Vathje | CAN | 8 | 5.05 | 52.27 |
| 4 | Lizzy Yarnold | GBR | 15 | 5.05 | 52.29 |
| 5 | Kim Meylemans | BEL | 1 | 5.09 | 52.35 |
| 6 | Mirela Rahneva | CAN | 13 | 4.94 | 52.37 |
| 7 | Anna Fernstädt | GER | 7 | 5.26 | 52.44 |
| 7 | Lelde Priedulena | LAT | 11 | 5.05 | 52.44 |
| 9 | Elena Nikitina | RUS | 3 | 4.88 | 52.47 |
| 10 | Janine Flock | AUT | 10 | 5.16 | 52.56 |
| 11 | Kendall Wesenberg | USA | 4 | 5.12 | 52.67 |
| 12 | Jane Channell | CAN | 16 | 4.95 | 52.69 |
| 13 | Laura Deas | GBR | 12 | 4.97 | 52.76 |
| 14 | Savannah Graybill | USA | 17 | 5.20 | 52.81 |
| 15 | Maria Orlova | RUS | 18 | 5.00 | 52.87 |
| 16 | Jaclyn Narracott | AUS | 22 | 5.11 | 53.05 |
| 17 | Kimberley Bos | NED | 2 | 5.06 | 53.11 |
| 18 | Marina Gilardoni | SUI | 23 | 5.09 | 53.42 |
| 19 | Takako Oguchi | JPN | 26 | 5.15 | 53.48 |
| 20 | Renata Khuzina | RUS | 24 | 5.08 | 53.50 |
| 21 | Annie O’Shea | USA | 14 | 5.02 | 53.64 |
| 22 | Donna Creighton | GBR | 20 | 5.09 | 53.80 |
| 23 | Maria Mazilu | ROU | 25 | 5.06 | 53.84 |
| 24 | Joska le Conte | NED | 21 | 5.12 | 53.94 |
| 25 | Yulia Kanakina | RUS | 19 | 4.97 | 53.97 |
| 26 | Maya Pedersen | NOR | 27 | 5.25 | 54.10 |
| 27 | Katie Tannenbaum | ISV | 29 | 5.28 | 54.39 |
| 28 | Valentine Margaglio | ITA | 30 | 5.19 | 54.47 |
| 29 | Marta Orlowska | POL | 31 | 5.24 | 54.64 |
| 30 | Maria Montejano | ESP | 28 | 5.21 | 55.07 |
| 31 | Sara Lavrenčič | SLO | 5 | 5.52 | 56.54 |
