Canadians slide to skeleton gold, bronze in weather-shortened race
Elisabeth Vathje wins 1-run event, Mirela Rahneva 3rd
Elisabeth Vathje was declared the winner of the women's skeleton event in Winterberg, Germany on Sunday in a race that was shortened to one run due to weather conditions.
Canadian teammate Mirela Rahneva also reached the podium with a third-place finish.
Jane Channell finished 12th to round out the Canadian results.
Vathje posted a time of 58.02 seconds, 0.10 seconds ahead of Germany's Jacqueline Loelling, and 0.12 seconds in front of Rahneva.
"It is pretty cool and surreal to be back on top of the podium," said Vathje.
"I love coming to Winterberg and have always enjoyed this track. I had an inkling that I could win here today, even though Jacqueline [Lolling] is incredible on this track. We always have a great battle here."
It was the second medal of the season for both Canadians.
Vathje, 22, also finished at the top of the podium at the season-opening event in Whistler, B.C. in early December, while Rahneva, 28, earned bronze in Lake Placid, N.Y. for her first career World Cup medal.
"I fell in love with the track on our first track walk we did here this week," said Rahneva.
"It is a smooth track with nice rhythm. It was a crazy race today, but it was a great feeling racing. I was picturing both Liz and I on the podium. It was magical to see the two Canadian flags raised today."
This achievement also marked the first time in four years that two Canadian skeleton athletes have shared the World Cup podium.
"It's awesome to have two of us on the podium and really shows the depth of our program," said Vathje.
"I really hope we can get Jane up there on the podium with us. All three of us are forces to be reckoned with. We love this sport and our country so much so it is awesome to show our depth."