Skeleton World Champion Jacqueline Lölling (Winterberg) and “Vice” Tina Hermann (Königssee) have started the Olympic Winter with disappointing performances. Lölling did not get past eighth place at the World Cup season opener in Lake Placid/USA after a serious mistake in the second run, Hermann finished in another two places behind.
Sophia Griebel (chair) missed the second run of the best 20. The victory went to the Austrian Janine Flock.
However, Lölling and Hermann also had problems in the same spot last year, but the season was extremely successful for the duo after that:”Our goal is to win a medal in South Korea,”said national coach Jens Müller before the opening race with a view to the winter games in Pyeongchang (9th place). till 25. February) said. At the 2010 games in Vancouver, Kerstin Szymkowiak (silver) and Anja Huber (bronze) were the only Olympic medals of the German skeletonis.
But never before has Germany been in such a good position, especially with regard to women, as it is now. Hermann won the World Championship title and the overall World Cup in 2016, and Lölling managed to win this double last season. Last March, Lölling also won the only World Cup so far on the difficult Olympic track in Pyeongchang.
On Friday (14.00 hrs CET) the first men’s Skeleton World Cup is scheduled in the Olympic city of 1980. Vice World Champion Axel Jungk (Oberbärenburg) and his team mates Christopher Grotheer (Oberhof) and Alexander Gassner (Winterberg) are hoping for surprises. The four-time World Champion Martins Dukurs from Latvia is considered to be the top favourite for the overall World Cup victory as well as Olympic gold.