For Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands, the collection of the biggest skeleton medals is complete. Bronze at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, silver at the world championships two years ago and now, finally, she has gold.
Bos is the new world champion of her sport, turning in the fastest times in Friday’s final two runs in Lake Placid to win the title at Mount Van Hoevenberg – the fifth different woman to win the season’s biggest skeleton race in the last five years.
“This year I was like, ‘I really want it.’ But you have to have it come to you,” Bos said. “You can’t force sliding.”
Bos’ four-run time was 3min 40.06sec, and her final margin of 0.67sec matched the biggest by a woman at the world championships in a decade. Lizzy Yarnold of Britain won by the same margin at St Moritz for the world title in 2015.
Mystique Ro of the United States finished second in 3:40.73 and Anna Fernstaedt of the Czech Republic – whose career seemed in jeopardy after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes three years ago – was third in 3:40.81.
Ro, who last March became the first American in eight years to win a World Cup skeleton race, became the first skeleton athlete from the US to reach the podium at a world championships since 2013.
On the men’s side Briton Matt Weston picked up his second men’s skeleton world title win, on Friday, winning by 1.90sec - the second-largest margin in the competition’s history.
Weston, who won in 2023 as well, led the rest of the field by 0.89sec through the first two runs before setting an new track record at Mt Van Hoevenberg Sliding Center as he cleared the third run in 52.80.
He got off to a lackluster start on his final run but quickly recovered for a dominant win with a total time of 3:35.48. His compatriot Marcus Wyatt was second and German Olympic silver medallist Axel Jungk (3:37.41) third.
“It just feels amazing. My last push was obviously not the best, I almost fell over. But I can’t really complain,” said Weston.
The win was another moment of sweet redemption for Weston since the 2022 Beijing Games, where he finished 15th, a result that nearly caused the 28-year-old twice overall World Cup winner to quit the sport.
“I felt good the whole week,” he said. “Sliding went well and look what happened!”
