Lölling finishes second, Yulia Kanakina achieves first ever podium finish in third
Altenberg (RWH): A fifth World Cup victory for the European Champion: Skeleton athlete Elena Nikitina has won the women’s BMW IBSF World Cup race in Altenberg. At the third race of the 2018/2019 winter season, the Russian athlete set a new starting record (5.31 seconds) during the second heat, pushing defending World Cup title holder Jacqueline Lölling (GER, 0.37 seconds back) into second place. Lölling – who won silver at the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018 – was followed by 2017 Junior World Champion Yulia Kanakina (RUS, 0.97 seconds back), who celebrated her first ever World Cup podium finish in third place.
Marina Gilardoni of Switzerland finished in seventh for her best result in a long time. The last time the 31-year-old finished higher than seventh was February 2016, when she came third in Königssee (GER).
Italy’s current national push champion, Valentina Margaglio, surprised spectators during the first heat in Altenberg by securing the second-best starting time of all 20 athletes in the field.
The 2014 Olympic bronze medallist Elena Nikitina (RUS, 642 points) has extended her lead in the overall standings for the 2018/2019 BMW IBSF World Cup. Jacqueline Lölling (GER, 619) climbs to second place ahead of her team mate Tina Hermann (GER, 602), who finished fourth in Altenberg.
Further information, the World Cup results and the latest overall standings are available at ibsf.org. ©RWH2019
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