Mirela Rahneva of Ottawa, Ontario won a gold medal and silver medal in the final two women’s World Cup skeleton competitions on the 2018-19 calendar this past weekend at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta. On Friday, Rahheva and Elisabeth Maier of Calgary, Alberta each reached the podium as Rahneva won gold and Maier won bronze.
In the Friday World Cup, Rahneva posted a winning time of 1:54.52. Maier’s third place time was 1:55.20. Tina Hermann of Germany won the silver medal with a time of 1:54.98. Rahneva reached the podium by 0.76 seconds and Maier reached the podium by eight one hundredths of a second. Elena Nikitina of Russia finished in fourth place with a time of 1:55.28.
In the World Cup on Saturday, Rahneva’s silver medal winning time was 1:57.52. Hermann won gold with a time of 1:57.39. Laura Deas of Great Britain won the bronze medal with a time of 1:57.68. Rahneva reached the podium by 0.22 seconds over Maier, who had a fourth place time of 1:57.74.
Three Canadians finished in the top 10 in the World Cup women’s skeleton standings. Rahneva finished third with 1396 points. Maier was eighth with 1146 points and Jane Channell of Vancouver, British Columbia was ninth with 1122 points. Nikitina was the World Cup women’s skeleton champion with 1663 points. The World Cup medals for Rahneva and Maier will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
