Brazilian Nicole Silveira won the second stage of the Asian Cup in skeleton (a sport in which the athlete goes down an ice track on a sled, face down and head forward). This Saturday (9), in PyeongChang (South Korea), the 30-year-old from Rio Grande do Sul set a combined time of 1min48s35 after two laps, just 14 hundredths ahead of the Belgian Kim Meylemans. German Jacqueline Pfeifer (1min48s95) completed the podium.
Nicole completed the first descent in 53.79 seconds, just five hundredths behind Meylemans, who had the fastest time among the 45 competitors. The Belgian (who is the Brazilian’s fiancée) didn’t do well in the second lap, making only the sixth mark. The woman from Rio Grande do Sul, in turn, achieved the second best run of the series (54s56), ahead of her partner in the combined time.
Among the participating athletes were Dutch Kimberley Bos, current skeleton World Cup champion, and German Hannah Neise, Winter Olympic champion at the 2022 Games in Beijing (China). Bos finished this Saturday’s race in fifth place, while Neise was ninth.
Another race day in the books ☑️🛷
Here are the IBSF Asian Cup #skeleton race results from today:Full results: https://t.co/rqpO92qYPi#IBSF #AsianCup #slidingtogether pic.twitter.com/8lWHLzG4dZ
— IBSF (@IBSFsliding) November 9, 2024
Last Friday (8), Nicole and Meylemans also achieved a double on the podium, but with the Belgian in first. The competition in PyeongChang, host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics, serves as preparation for the sport’s World Cup, which has the first stage on the 16th, again in the South Korean city.
Born in Rio Grande (RS), but living in Canada since the age of seven, Nicole represented Brazil at the 2022 Winter Olympics, placing 13th, the best result for a Latin American athlete in skeleton. The next edition of the Games will be in 2026, in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
