Axel Jungk second in Winterberg ahead of Matt Weston
Winterberg (RWH) Skeleton Olympic Champion Christopher Grotheer from Germany started into 2023 with a victory at the BMW IBSF World Cup. In Winterberg (GER), the 2020 and 2021 World Champion claimed his fourth World Cup victory in a tight race for podium positions.
With best time in second race run Grotheer relegated teammate Axel Jungk (GER, 0.39 seconds back) to second place. For Jungk, the Olympic silver medallist in Beijing 2022, it was the first podium finish of the World Cup season.
One hundredth of a second behind Jungk, Matt Weston of Great Britain (0.40 seconds back) finished third. Weston was seventh after the first run in Winterberg, but moved up four places.
Seunggi Jung of Korea, in the lead after the first World Cup run, dropped to 13th in the second run. Olympic bronze medallist Yan Wengang from China, after the first run tied with Grotheer and Jungk on second place, finished fifth to celebrate his best World Cup result.
In the overall ranking for the BMW IBSF World Cup 2022/2023 Christopher Grotheer (GER, 844 points) took the lead with his victory ahead of Marcus Wyatt (GBR, 809) who finished fourth in Winterberg. Axel Jungk (GER, 754) is third at the halfway point of the season after four of the eight World Cup races ahead of previous leader Seunggi Jung (KOR, 740).
For more detailed information including athlete profiles and results please visit ibsf.org. Photos for editorial use can be found at Flickr. ©RWH2022
Christopher Grotheer (GER, 2022 Olympic Champion, 2020 and 2021 World Champion).
"Before the first run I warmed up too long and nothing went there at the start. But the run was really good. In the second run I was able to improve on the start. A victory is never business as usual for me, but because of my successes I think I am more relaxed and can enjoy it more."
Axel Jungk (GER, Olympic Silver 2022, World Championship silver 2017 and 2020)
"The result looks nice, but I am absolutely not satisfied with my performance. With all the fans at the track after two years it was a really nice moment today, especially at the top of the start."
Matt Weston (GBR, European Championship ninth 2022, Olympic 15th 2022)
"My start times were really disappointing for me. In the first run I also had a few mistakes and on a track like Winterberg you really have to slide perfectly. The second run was better, but I didn't expect a medal at all.“
Photos: IBSF / Viesturs Lacis
