Elisabeth Vathje of Calgary, Alberta and Mirela Rahneva of Ottawa, Ontario each earned a medal at a women’s World Cup skeleton competition in Igls, Austria on Friday. Vathje won the silver medal and Rahneva won the bronze medal.
Vathje posted a two-run time of 1:49.38. Rahneva won the bronze medal with a time of 1:49.44. Elena Nikitina of Russia won the gold medal with a time of 1:48.80.
Vathje reached the podium by nine one hundredths of a second and Rahneva reached the podium by three one hundredths of a second. Jacqueline Loelling of Germany finished in fourth place with a time of 1:49.47.
Vathje and Rahneva are also in second and third place respectively in the World Cup skeleton standings. Vathje has 966 points and Rahneva has 920 points. They both trail Loelling, who has 1002 points.
It was Rahneva’s first podium of the season. Vathje now has won three silver medals. Rahneva and Vathje will each be medal contenders for Canada in women’s skeleton at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
It will be very interesting to see how Vathje performs in Pyeongchang. She earned a bronze medal in women’s skeleton at the 2015 FIBT World Championships in Winterberg, Germany on March 7, but dropped down to sixth at the 2016 World Championships in Igls and then again at the 2017 World Championships in Konigssee, Germany.
