Martins Dukurs in second with first podium of season – Axel Jungk comes third in Altenberg

Altenberg (RWH) Skeleton athlete Christopher Grotheer of Germany has won the first World Cup victory of his career with a track record (56.10 seconds) in Altenberg. Grotheer, who came fifth at the 2015 World Championships, set a new best time in both runs in the third BMW IBSF World Cup of the 2016/2017 season, sending World Champion and defending World Cup titleholder Martins Dukurs of Latvia into second, 0.30 seconds back. This was the first podium appearance of the winter for Dukurs, who has come first in the overall World Cup standings in the last seven seasons. Third place in Altenberg went to Axel Jung of Germany (0.47 seconds behind).

Several athletes posted their best World Cup season results in Altenberg, including Alexander Gassner of Germany in fourth, Rhys Thornbury of New Zealand in eleventh and Britain’s Jack Thomas in fifteenth.

After the third of eight races, Sungbin Yun of Korea has gone into the lead in the overall BMW IBSF World Cup 2016/2017 standings with 609 points after taking a fifth in Altenberg. Martins Dukurs (LAT) is now in overall second with 586 points, followed by US slider Matt Antoine (562 points), who came ninth in Altenberg. ©RWH2016-2017

Photo: Viesturs Lācis