Russian athlete Elena Nikitina claimed a significant lead early on and went on to secure victory in the first women’s skeleton race of the World Cup season on Sunday. Nikitina completed both her runs down the ice in 1 minute, 45.12 seconds. Elisabeth Maier from Canada finished second with a time of 1:45.42, followed by Tina Hermann from Germany in third with 1:45.60.
Nikitina has been competing for the Russian national team since 2009, with her international career starting in the 2010-11 season. She made her debut at the IgIs World Championship in 2012, finishing 8th and showing promise. Her first podium finish came at the next Junior World Championship, where she triumphed over Sophia Griebel. Nikitina placed 12th in her first World Cup event at Konigssee in 2013 but quickly bounced back to win at IgIs just a week later, edging out Noelle Pikus-Pace by 0.27 seconds. She also participated in the senior world championship in St. Mortiz that same month, finishing 15th.
Known for her Schneider sledge, Nikitina credits much of her success to her coach, Denis Alimov. Before taking up skeleton racing, she was involved in soccer. In the race, German sledders dominated the top six positions, while the Americans faced challenges, with Kendall Wesenberg finishing 11th. Wesenberg recovered from a mistake in her first run to post the seventh-fastest time in her second run.
