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After nearly two decades of anticipation, victory has finally come to fruition.
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Province of Belluno — Janine Flock has clinched the gold medal that eluded her for years, marking a triumphant moment in her career.
The Austrian skeleton racer, who had never won in her previous 16 attempts at the Olympics or world championships, achieved her most significant victory on Saturday night at the Milan Cortina Games.
Flock claimed the Olympic gold in women’s skeleton, completing the event in a total time of 3 minutes, 49.02 seconds, maintaining a lead from start to finish. The 36-year-old secured her first Olympic medal in four outings, edging out Germany’s Susanne Kreher and Jacqueline Pfeifer.
“I can’t believe it. It doesn’t feel real right now,” Flock expressed with joy. “It’s a dream to do this.”
Flock was handed an Austrian flag shortly after hopping off the sled. She hoisted the flag into the air, then clapped her hands as the emotion began finally pouring out.
It was a win about two decades in the making. Flock is a three-time World Cup overall champion with 15 World Cup race wins, 45 World Cup medals overall, and has silver and bronze medals from the world championships.
And now, gold in the biggest race of all. Flock was fourth at the 2018 Olympics, ninth in 2014 and 10th in 2022. All that was forgotten on Saturday night.
Kreher was second in 3:49.32. And Pfeifer — the silver medalist at Pyeongchang in 2018 and now the second woman to win two Olympic skeleton medals, joining two-time gold medalist Lizzy Yarnold of Britain — was third in 3:49.46.
“It was really special,” Kreher said of getting to experience the medal moment with Pfeifer. “We are teammates for so many years, and now to share the podium is so special. Such a unique experience.”
Kelly Curtis of the U.S., who lives in Italy as part of her duty with the U.S. Air Force, was 12th in 3:52.13. Mystique Ro was 15th for the Americans in 3:52.48.
Flock’s lead entering Saturday’s final two runs was a mere 0.04 seconds over Kreher. That meant Flock went first in the third heat, setting the tone for what was about to happen.
Kreher went next and was ahead of Flock’s time for about half of her third run, before starting to bleed time. Kreher led by about two-tenths of a second at one point, then wasted all that and more — finishing the heat 0.21 seconds behind Flock.
That doesn’t sound like much. It is in sliding.
The only time in Olympic history where someone wasted a lead with one run to go in the women’s skeleton event was 2018 — when Flock led the field, only to throw down a clunker in the final run. She went from first to fourth that day in that final heat, not only missing gold but missing the medals entirely.
Her lead with one run to go in 2018: 0.02 seconds.
The lead on Saturday night with one heat left was more than 10 times bigger. That’s one sizable cushion. Flock isn’t a great starter, so all of her lead — and then some — going into the final run was given away at the top of the track. That wasn’t a surprise.
But she is a great driver. This time, she was a great finisher, too.
She kept finding speed, regaining the top spot with just a few curves to go. The final margin was three-tenths of a second, simply because nobody in the field knew how to get down the track any better than Flock did.
“I couldn’t tell what my time was,” Flock said. “I just knew I put down four really consistent runs and hoped that it was enough.”
What are the differences between skeleton and luge?
Skeleton is among the fastest sports at the Winter Games, along with luge and bobsledding.
Skeleton events differ from luge as athletes must begin their races with a standing start. They build up speed by running around for 40 meters (131 feet) before assuming a head-first position as they slide down the icy course.
Skeleton athletes reach speeds of more than 130 kph (81 mph).
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