Hannah Neise Wins Germany Another Gold in Skeleton

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Hannah Neise made history in more ways than one after winning gold in the women’s skeleton.

The 21-year-old German claimed the top spot with a combined time of 4:07.62 after four runs. She saved her best for last, posting her fastest time (1:01.63) in her fourth run.

In a sport largely dominated by more experienced athletes — generally in their late 20s and 30s — Neise is a huge outlier. She is the youngest women’s skeleton gold medalist in Olympic history since the sport held its first women’s event in 2002.

Australia’s Jaclyn Narracott claimed the silver, finishing 0.62 seconds behind Neise. It was just Australia’s 16th Winter Olympic medal ever, and first in skeleton. The Netherlands’ Kimberley Bos won bronze at 0.84 seconds back.

While Neise’s gold was Germany’s first ever for women’s skeleton, the nation is accustomed to success in this sport. Germany swept skeleton in Beijing after winning gold and silver in the men’s competition on Friday.

Team USA’s Katie Uhlaender, in what is expected to be her final Olympics, finished sixth in the event. The 37-year-old from Colorado has competed in five consecutive Winter Olympics dating back to 2006. While she has never won an Olympic medal, she placed fourth in 2014 and has six total medals in World Championship competitions.

Kelly Curtis also competed for the United States, placing 21st after her third run and just missing the top-20 cutoff for the final runs.

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