Skeletonist Anna Fernstädtová took seventh place in her Olympic debut in Czech colors and achieved the best result in the most important race of the season. Surprisingly, Germany’s Hannah Neise won.
Fernstädt, 25, started four years ago at the Pyongyang Olympics for Germany and finished sixth. Then she started racing for her native Czech Republic and in the ice trough in Yenching she confirmed her affiliation with the world top.
In the four-run competition, the three-time junior world champion lost 1.70 seconds to the winner and beat her best result of the year, which was an eighth-place finish at the World Cup in Altenberg.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she started talking about the frozen rides on the river bed to Jen-Qing. “From the pressure of getting here,” she reminded me of the diabetes problem, and she wept for a moment under the veil. “Very well,” she assured the reporter after a moment that she could continue the conversation.
“I think I can only be happy to be here. It could have been much worse after St. Moritz. I was in hospital before the Olympics. These are not tears of dissatisfaction, but to be relieved of the pressure I’m happy “I think I can be proud of that and we all managed together to be there and put in some good performances,” she said.
On the skeleton, it will point its head forward. He definitely wants to continue his career. “I’m not afraid of not being able to play sports,” she said, adding, “Maybe I will be an inspiration to some children or other athletes who are also diabetic that everything is possible.”
German Neise, who followed Friday’s triumph of compatriot Christopher Grotheer, finished against all odds for the gold medal. Both became Germany’s first Olympic skeleton winners.
Czech skeleton athlete Anna Fernstädtová at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing Photo: Reuters
Neise, 21, who has never been in the top three at the World Championships, was joined on the podium by Australian Jaclyn Narracott and Dutch Kimberley Bos.
Former world junior champion Neise won by a whopping 62nd of a second. World Cup winner Bosova has already lost 84 hundredths to her. The Germans have confirmed their dominance on the Olympic track, where they have dominated all four luge competitions, now the two skeleton races and the favorites will be among the bobsleds from Sunday.
The Fernstädt rink, which finished sixth in the trial runs in October and was seventh worst in six practice runs during the games, also saddled the Yenching ice track.
Seventh place also belonged to the native of Prague also after the first day of the competition. Today she lost a place in the third race, but on the last lap she was back in seventh position thanks to her best time in the race.
Skeleton:
Women: 1. Neise (DEU) 4: 07.62 (1: 02.36 + 1: 02.19 + 1: 01.44 + 1: 01.63), 2. Narracott (Aust.) -0.62 ( 1: 02.05 + 1: 02.29 + 1: 01.79 + 1 : 02.11), 3. Bosova (NZL) -0.84 (1: 02.51 + 1: 02.22 + 1: 01.86 + 1: 01.87), 4. Hermann (Germany) -1.11 (1: 02.28 + 1: 02.29 + 1: 01.90 +1: 02.26), 5. Rahneva (CAN) -1.53 (1: 02.03 + 1: 03.14 + 1: 01.72 + 1: 02.26), 6. Uhlaender (USA) -1.61 (1:02, 41 + 1 : 02.46 + 1: 02.15 + 1: 02.21), 7. Fernstädtova (CZE) -1.70 (1: 02.35 + 1: 02.44 + 1: 02.27 + 1: 02.26), 8. Löllingová (DEU) -1.73 (1: 02.27 +1: 02.45 + 1: 02.22 + 1: 02.41), 9 Chao Tan (China) -1.90 (1:02.26+1:02.40+1:02.53+1:02.33), 10. Flock (AUT) -2.42 (1:02, 64 + 1: 02.72 + 1: 02.23 + 1: 02.45
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