By Canadian Press

Ottawa’s Mirela Rahneva finishes third on World Cup skeleton circuit

Feb 17, 2023 | 2:15 PM

SIGULDA, Latvia — Ottawa’s Mirela Rahneva locked up third place overall on the World Cup women’s skeleton standings with a sixth-place finish Friday in the final event of the season.

Rahneva finished the event with a combined time of one minute 44.03 seconds.

The 34-year-old was poised to earn her fourth medal of the season after throwing down the second-fast time in the opening heat on the tricky 16-corner track in Sigulda.

However, she struggled through the bottom portion of the 1,420-metre track in the final heat, dropping her to sixth place.

Rahneva finished the season with 1,515 points to capture the third Crystal Globe of her career. The two-time Olympian also finished third in the 2019 and 2017 seasons.

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“I would say it was one of my better seasons,” Rahneva said. “My first year in 2017 was successful too, but the expectations weren’t there.

“This year I wanted to fight because I was so close at the Olympics,” added Rahneva, who was fifth at the 2022 Beijing Games.

Germany’s Tina Hermann locked up first place in the overall standings (1,620 points) with her fourth victory of the season in 1:43.65.

Laura Deas of Britain was second at 1:43.70. Belgium’s Kim Meylemans claimed the bronze at 1:43.88.

A fourth-place finish on Friday was enough to secure Kimberley Bos second place overall in the 2022-23 season. The Dutch slider raced to a total of 1,562 points.

Jane Channell of North Vancouver, B.C., was fast off the starting block in both runs in the final race of the season while sliding to ninth place with a combined time of 1:44.33.

Calgary’s Blake Enzie was the lone Canadian in the men’s race. The 2022 Olympian posted a two-run time of 1:42.44 for 18th place.

Matt Weston of Britain was first with a time of 1:40.39, followed by teammate Marcus Wyatt (1:40.75) and Germany’s Christopher Grotheer (1:41.02).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2023.

The Canadian Press