Canada's Mirela Rahneva slides to career-best Olympic finish in women's skeleton

Mirela Rahneva will leave Beijing with a career-best Olympic performance instead of a preferred medal around her neck.

The Bulgarian-born, Ottawa-raised slider negotiated the 1,615-metre track in a combined four minutes 9.15 seconds across four runs to finish fifth in women's skeleton on Saturday night at Yanqing National Sliding Center.

Rahneva placed 12th in her 2018 Olympic debut in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

"I wanted to prove to myself that … I can achieve big things. I didn't medal but I'm so incredibly proud of how hard I've worked [the past four years] and how far I've gotten," Rahneva told CBC Sports.

Hannah Neise, the 21-year-old who won the junior world title last year, clocked 4:07.62 for Germany's first-ever Olympic gold in women's skeleton and became the first non-British champion since 2006. Australia's Jaclyn Narracott was second in 4:08.24 — the first slider outside Europe and North America to claim a medal in the event — while Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands earned bronze (4:08.46).

"It is mindblowing," said Neise, who has never captured a World Cup, world championship or European medal. "I can't realize it right now. I think it'll take some time to realize it. It's an unbelievable feeling."

Jane Channell of North Vancouver, B.C. was 17th in the field of 20 in 4:10.95 after finishing 10th in Pyeongchang.

The 33-year-old Channell looked up slightly early in her final run and made other small mistakes that proved costly, but still managed to cross the line in 1:02.34, her fastest time in Beijing.

WATCH | Rahneva posts fastest 1st run in skeleton heats:

16-year medal drought

Laura Deas placed 19th to end a streak of five Olympics in which Great Britain reached the medal podium.

Rahneva, who trains out of Calgary, sat ninth halfway through the competition on Friday, having raised the eyebrows of many on her first run with a then-track record of 1:02.03 that gave her the lead. She undoubtedly had some fans in Canada wondering if she might become its second medal recipient in the event and first since Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards earned bronze at the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy.

I just wanted to prove to Canada and the world that Canada ... can be a contender for [Olympic] medals. We just need a little bit more [financial] support from [Own The Podium].— Canadian slider Mirela Rahneva

In her third run, Rahneva dragged her toes at the top of the track and later had a big skid, causing the nose of her sled to point down, create friction and slow the 33-year-old. Still, she posted a time of 1:01.72 on the new and lightning-fast track to jump four spots into fifth, 90-100ths of a second behind leader Neise and 42-100ths back of bronze-medal position.

Rahneva hit the wall a couple of times on her final run and finished her second Games with a 1:02.26 performance.

"To be honest, I came out here for everyone that supported me back home in Canada," said Rahneva. "Canada has a such a strong, tight sliding community and I just wanted to prove to Canada and the world that Canada has [the talent], we can be a contender for [Olympic] medals. We just need a little bit more [financial] support from OTP [Own the Podium]."

Freestyle Canada was given a $2.3-million funding boost since Pyeongchang in 2018 — more than any other program — as the freestyle skiers have hauled in 16 of Canada's 54 combined medals over the past two Winter Olympics, topping the podium eight times.

The national skeleton program received the largest proportional funding boost of any sport organization this quadrennial, more than doubling its funding since 2018 to $953,000.

Own The Podium CEO Anne Merklinger told CBC Sports recently the boost is reinstating some of the program's funding from the 2014 quadrennial — which was slashed by 79 per cent heading into Pyeongchang — as the depth of the women's program improved dramatically in the lead-up to Beijing, thus increasing skeleton's medal potential.

OTP, an organization founded in 2004 with a mission to put more Canadians on the Olympic podium, has recommended the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees again forego performance objectives.

Support 'driving force behind my performance'

Three weeks before the Olympics, Rahneva slid to bronze at the World Cup season finale in St. Moritz, Switzerland for her second podium of 2021-22 after missing the entire COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign with a neck injury.

Rahneva initially wanted to follow two-time Canadian Olympic champion Heather Moyse's path from rugby to the bobsleigh track, but the five-foot-six athlete soon realized she was too small to push the sled. In 2014, she left Toronto for Calgary to try to latch on with the national skeleton team.

"I've gotten the best messages from family and friends and it's been literally the driving force behind my performance [in Beijing]," said Rahneva, her voice cracking. "It means everything to have a backing and I'm very, very, very grateful for the backing that I've got from my support team back home."

Neise's win capped a year that was unpredictable in women's skeleton from the outset. There were eight World Cup races leading up to the Olympics, with five different winners and 11 different medalists — Neise not one of them.

But there was a big hint that she could contend at the Olympics. There was a preseason race at the Yanqing Sliding Center after three weeks of international training this fall, and Neise was second.

"I knew I could do it if my runs were good," Neise said.

After six sliding events at the Beijing Games — four in luge, two in skeleton — the Germans have captured six gold medals.

Narracott was the first slider on Saturday and set the tone with a new track mark of 1:01.79 which Neise lowered to 1:01.44 on her third run.

Narracott's medal, though, had a very British feel — and that has nothing to do with Queen Elizabeth II remaining the head of state in 15 Commonwealth countries, including Australia. Narracott spends the season travelling and training with the British team, and her husband is retired British skeleton athlete and 2018 Olympic bronze medallist Dom Parsons.

WATCH | Full event replay: Women's skeleton: