Hallie Clarke Opens World Cup Skeleton Season in Sixth
PYEONGCHANG, Kor.—Canada’s Hallie Clarke kicked off the pre-Olympic skeleton World Cup season with a solid sixth-place finish in PyeongChang, South Korea on Saturday.
The reigning World Champion scrapped her way into a tie for sixth spot with a two-run time of 1:48.67 in her first visit to the gnarly 16-corner chute.
“I’m very happy with the race. I was a little frustrated after the first run, but I was able to pull it together in the final heat with a personal best time that helped me climb some spots,” said Clarke, who became the youngest World Champion in skeleton history last year at just 19 years of age.
The calm and composed 20-year-old from Brighton, Ont. sat in 14th pace after her first blast down the 1,659-metre chute, but clawed her way eight spots up the standings with a personal best time (54.10) in her final run.
“This is a much stronger start to the season than last year so I’m very excited to continue the momentum,” said Clarke, who credited the team’s pre-season strategy to train in Europe and take an additional week on the PyeongChang track as the key to her success. “Given it was my first time on this track, I think that extra week of training here gave me more time to learn the track and be confident in my race plan.”
Clarke finished .26 seconds behind the leaders in a race that saw lots of movement between the two runs on the leaderboard.
Great Britain’s Amelia Coltman snagged the first gold medal of the season, winning with a time of 1:48.41. Austria’s Janine Flock hung on for the silver medal at 1:48.49 after posting the top time in the opening heat. Brazil’s Nicole Rocha Silveira rounded out the women’s podium at 1:48.54.
Two-time Canadian Olympian, Jane Channell, was consistent in her return to PyeongChang where she made her Olympic debut six years ago. The North Vancouver resident, who dove headfirst into the sport of skeleton with the Olympic Games held in her backyard in 2010, took advantage of a fresh start to a new year, posting an 11th-place time of 1:48.90.
“This is the first time I’ve been back to PyeongChang since the 2018 Olympics. With the number of years away, and being on a completely different sled, it felt like a brand new track,” said Channell. “It’s been a challenge relearning it. The ice conditions have been really tricky in this warm weather. The team did a great job with their performances and we’re looking to continue building on this tomorrow.”
Calgary’s Grace Dafoe did not qualify for the second run with the fastest 25 athletes in heat one, placing 35th. The two Canadian men who suited up on Saturday also had one run each. Ryan Kuehn was 27th, while his fellow Calgary-based teammate Kyle Donsberger was 32nd.
Germany’s Christopher Grotheer won the men’s race with a time of 1:46.32.
The world’s fastest headfirst sliders will be back on the starting block in PyeongChang Sunday for a second race before traveling to China.
Complete Women’s Skeleton Results:
https://www.ibsf.org/en/result/504750/?cHash=0cfd68e036fdae7220702ca6996dd823
Complete Men’s Skeleton Results:
https://www.ibsf.org/en/result/504755/?cHash=1919f69ee570192d29747fda4a8abadd
Bobsleigh CANADA Skeleton is a non-profit organization and the national governing body for the sports of bobsleigh and skeleton in Canada. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Karbon, Athabasca Oil Corporation in collaboration with Canada Actions I Love Energy, Joe Rocket and Driving Force – along with the Government of Canada, Own the Podium and the Canadian Olympic Committee, Bobsleigh CANADA Skeleton develops champions in the community, on and off the track, who have a passion for bobsleigh and skeleton. Please visit us at www.bobsleighcanadaskeleton.ca.