TEAM USA CONCLUDES THE WORLD CUP SEASON ON HOME ICE

LAKE PLACID, NY (March 23, 2024)- The IBSF World Cup season concluded on home ice this week with three days of competition spanning March 21 through March 23. 

The first day of events started on a high note with Mystique Ro securing a first-place finish in Women’s Skeleton with her two-run time of 1:50.35. 

“The final World Cup was unique compared to the rest of the season; home ice, home crowd and a lot of eyes on us as skeleton is the first event- no pressure! After a few melt downs, the choice was to trust the foundation I had worked all season to build or allow panic to settle in. With the help of the devo squad and Lake Placid home front, I was able to put aside the unease. Ultimately it came down to trusting my coaches and their knowledge of how to approach this last race. The second heat was definitely on the edge but managed to pull through with a narrow lead. None of this would have been possible without my crew,” shared Ro about her exciting end to her World Cup season.

Also in Women’s Skeleton, Katie Uhlaender placed fourth with a time of 1:50.61, Sara Roderick placed ninth with a time of 1:51.24 and Michelle Toukan placed 26th with a one-run time of 56.69.

In the Women’s Skeleton division of the first-ever Pan American Championships which coincided with the World Cup races, Ro placed first, Uhlaender placed second, Roderick placed third and Toukan placed eighth. 

In Men’s World Cup Skeleton, Austin Florian placed tenth with a time of 1:48.42, Dan Barefoot placed 16th with a time of 1:48.96 and Hunter Williams placed 23rd with a time of 1:49.47.

In Men’s Skeleton in the Pan American Championships, Florian placed first, Barefoot placed second and Williams placed third.

The action continued on the second day of competition with Women’s Monobob and 2-Man Bobsled. 

In World Cup Monobob, Elana Meyers Taylor placed second with a time of 1:58.91.

“It was so great to be able to race in front of a home crowd again! Thanks to all our sponsors especially DeBotech and Advance for coming out to show support. Personally, my last World Cup here was 2019 so it was great to race in front of my friends and family again and part of the reason I came back to the sport after the 2022 Olympics. wanted to win gold today but Bree Walker drove marvelously and was the better driver today. I’m happy with the lessons I learned and looking forward to returning for World Champs next season,” shared Meyers Taylor.

Also in Monobob, Kaysha Love placed fifth with a time of fifth of 1:59.32, Sylvia Hoffman placed ninth with a time of 2:00.16 and Riley Tejcek placed 13th with a time of 2:00.60.

In the Pan American division of competition, Meyers Taylor took first, Love placed second, Hoffman placed fourth and Tejcek placed sixth.

In World Cup Two-Man Bobsled, Frank Del Duca and Manteo Mitchell placed fifth with a time of 1:50.96. Kris Horn and Josh Williamson placed sixth with a time of 1:51.16.

In the Pan American competition, Del Duca and Mitchell placed first and Horn alongside Williamson took second. 

The third and final day of the competition comprised of 2-Woman and 4-man Bobsled.

In 2-Woman, Meyers Taylor and Emily Renna placed sixth with their time of 1:54.53. Love and Azaria Hill placed seventh with a time of 1:54.62. Hoffman with Sydney Milani placed 13th with a time of 1:55.57 while Tejcek alongside Jasmine Jones placed 14th a time of 1:55.62.

In the Pan American division, Meyers Taylor and Renna took first, Love and Hill took second, Hoffman and Milani took fifth and Tejcek and Jones took sixth place. 

4-Man Bobsled was the final event of the week. Unfortunately, due to a crash during Heat 2 of the competition causing severe damage to the track, the second heat of the event was canceled and the results were solely based on the first heat of the competition. 

In the World Cup circuit, Del Duca, Williamson, Adrian Adams, and Mitchell placed seventh while Horn, Jace Johnson, Hakeem Abdul-Saboor and Darius Joseph placed eighth with times of 55.19 and 55.26 respectively. 

In the Pan American circuit, Team Del Duca took second and Team Horn took third. 

Additionally, in exciting Para Bobsled news, Bob Balk took home gold for Team USA today in La Plagne, France at the IBSF Para Sport World Cup with his time of 2:13.77.

“It has been a fun week here in La Plagne getting to learn a new track! Today's win was a surprise, I had a great first run but less great second run Looking forward to the last race of the season tomorrow!” shared Balk about his first-place finish.

Also in the Para Bob competition that took place, Austin Parker took eighth with a time of 2:14.56, Will Castillo placed ninth with a time of 2:14.64 and David Christopher placed 14th with a time of 2:17.02.

The next and final Para Sport World Cup will be held tomorrow again in La Plagne. Check IBSF.org for more information. 

Additionally, the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Nationals will be held in Lake Placid from March 28 through 29 which will coincide with the spring half of the 2024/2025 Selection Races.

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About USA Bobsled/Skeleton

USA Bobsled/Skeleton is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton racing in the United States. Based in Lake Placid, NY, USA Bobsled/Skeleton oversees the development and training of American athletes at all levels of competition.