Christopher Grotheer wins gold in skeleton

UChristopher Grotheer raised his index finger in disbelief, then, with a brief hesitation, roared his joy with the German flag in his hands: With the historic first Olympic victory for German skeleton pilots, the 29-year-old continued the gold festival at the Winter Games in China. One day after the end of the luge competitions with a total of four gold medals, the world champion raced down the Yanqing ice track to the greatest success of his career and had a clear 0.66 second lead over his teammate Axel Jungk in the German double victory. China’s Yan Wengang won bronze.

For Grotheer, winning the Olympics is the ultimate jackpot. He can split the 20,000 euro prize money between two major projects: building a house near Oberhof and getting married to his girlfriend Mary Ann in May. The Thuringian started the final run 0.85 seconds ahead of Jungk and raced coolly down into the valley on his stomach. His 45-kilogram sled was again the fastest in the field at over 130 km/h, and Grotheer is still driving the model from last year.

Jungk’s silver medal deserves a similar rating as the police officer’s triumph. The 30-year-old from BSC Oberbärenburg was infected with the corona virus after the World Cup final in St. Moritz, trembled for a long time about participating in the Olympics and was unable to prepare as planned. Even when entering China, not everything went smoothly due to his illness. Ultimately, the World Cup runner-up in 2017 and 2020 had no chance against Grotheer’s top form.

The next German medal could already be won by the skeleton pilots on Saturday. After two of four runs, the trio of Hannah Neise, Tina Hermann and Jacqueline Lölling is in second, third and fifth place. Olympic debutant Neise from Winterberg is second, 0.21 seconds behind the leading Australian Jaclyn Narracott. World champion Tina Hermann from WSV Königssee finished third on Friday and is only two hundredths of a second behind Neise. The decision in the medal fight will be made in the fourth race on Saturday (2:55 p.m. CET).

Grotheer already had the precious metal around his neck on Friday evening local time. And that’s just two years after he hadn’t even qualified for the German World Cup team. The career of the veteran was not straight anyway. At the age of 15, Grotheer still wanted to be a ski jumper. However, because he was too heavy for it, he switched to the ice track, where he has been competing in the World Cup since 2012.

At its Olympic premiere four years ago in Pyeongchang, Grotheer finished eighth. For the Gold project, the experienced pilot went his own way, even turning the Olympic sled into a corner. Things went much better for Grotheer with his old sled. At over 130 km/h, the speed freak – Grotheer privately drives a 200 hp Kawasaki – set the top speed in the field on the first day on the old model and set a track record of 1:00.00 minutes.