Tomass Dukurs wins silver while bronze goes to Alexander Tretyakov

Winterberg (RWH): Martins Dukurs has taken his 45th World Cup win and eighth European Championship title: At the BMW IBSF World Cup in Winterberg (GER), the skeleton athlete from Latvia finished ahead of his competitors for the first time in this pre-Olympic season and celebrated his 45th ever win in the racing series. Coincidentally, Martins Dukurs achieved his first ever World Cup victory in Winterberg, almost exactly nine years ago in February 2008. The results of the race also decided the 2017 European Championships which meant that Martins Dukurs won his eighth consecutive title.

His brother Tomass Dukurs, who shared the title of European Champion last year after achieving the same time as Martins, finished in second (0.62 seconds behind) in Winterberg to secure silver medal in the European Championships. Third place in the World Cup and bronze medal in the European Championships went to Alexander Tretyakov of Russia (0.67 seconds).

Defending World Cup winner Martins Dukurs (LAT, 811 points) climbed the points table to lead the overall standings in the 2016/2017 BMW/IBSF World Cup for the first time this season. Sungbin Yun of Korea (793), who finished fifth in Winterberg, is second overall at the halfway point of the season. Christopher Grotheer of Germany (737) is in third place overall after only just missing out on a place on the European Championship and World Cup podium in Winterberg in fourth place. ©RWH2016-2017

Quotes:

Martins Dukurs (LAT, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016 World Champion, 2010 and 2014 Olympic silver medallist, overall winner in the World Cup from 2010-2016)
“It was a really important race here for me today! My season started with a few lows. I would like to thank everyone for supporting me. The track in Winterberg was also in top condition today.”

Tomass Dukurs (LAT, 2016 European Champion, third place in the 2015 World Championships)
“This season, I have been focusing on the World and European Championships. So, I’m really happy with the silver medal. I was so close to Martins after the first run but the second run wasn’t as good.”

Alexander Tretyakov (RUS, 2014 Olympic Champion, 2013 World Champion, 2007 European Champion)
“I’m pleased with the bronze. I’m not focusing on a particular race this season; each one is just as important as the next.”

Photos: Eugen Eslage