Jan 13

Graybill fourth and sixth in Igls European Cup

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Contact: Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Director
(518) 354-2250, abird@usbsf.com

Graybill fourth and sixth in Igls European Cup

IGLS, Austria (Jan. 13, 2012)- Savannah Graybill (Denver, Pa.) finished fourth and sixth in her first attempt at mastering the Igls track.  Graybill, a former Division I field hockey player, was awarded medals for her top-six performances in the women’s skeleton European Cup races held from Jan. 12-13.  

“I was excited to get back on my sled after a few weeks off for the holidays and was eager to compete again,” Graybill said.  “Igls is absolutely beautiful and it has been so much fun sliding here.  Our team, with the help of small nations coach Patrick Shannon, did a great job against such a big field of athletes.”

Graybill has already earned two bronze medals on the North American Cup series in the Park City, Utah and Whistler, Canada races.  She was close to a top-three finish in Igls’ first race, but German Kim Meylemans put together two strong runs to edge Graybill out of bronze medal position.  Graybill finished fourth out of 21 competitors with a combined time of 1:52.75. 

The second race was equally as competitive, and Graybill again posted a podium finish after crossing the finish in 1:52.24 for sixth place.  She was the only North American to crack the top-six on a European track.    

“Overall I’m pleased with my results and anxious and excited to move onto my first German track, Altenberg, next week,” Graybill said. 

Meghan Sullivan (Bluemont, Va.) posted two top-10 finishes, which is a huge improvement from last season’s results.  Sullivan was 27th and 14th last January, but showed her development over the last year with 10th and eighth place finishes.

German Maxi Just was victorious in both women’s races with combined times of 1:51.78 and 1:51.24.  Elina Galieva from Russia claimed silver the first day, followed by Just’s teammate Meylemans in third.  Germans swept the podium today.  Sarah Sartor trailed Maxi by 0.71 seconds for second, while Lena Joch finished on Sartor’s heels for third. 

Men’s skeleton competitor Greg West (Orange Beach, Ala.) raced in the Igls Intercontinental Cup last week while Brad Stewart filled in for a World Cup.  West bettered his results, which were 17th and 22nd, to 11th and 16th in this week’s European Cup. 

Allen Blackwell (Jackson, Miss.) was 25th yesterday, and moved up seven spots into 18th today. Although Blackwell didn’t have the results he had hoped for this weekend, he was still happy for the successful finishes his teammates posted.

“There is no ‘I’ in the word team and this is a team effort,” Blackwell said.  “I’m really proud to be associated with these fine individuals that I have the pleasure to work with." 

Alexander Mutovin from Russia was golden yesterday with a total time of 1:48.42.  German Kilian von Schleinitz claimed silver, and Swiss competitor Ronald Auderset was third.  Von Schleinitz was victorious by just 0.01 seconds today over Mutovin with a combined time of 1:48.46.  Pavel Kulikov broke into medal position by finishing third.

The next European Cup race will take place in Altenberg, Germany from Jan. 18-19.  Please contact Amanda Bird, USBSF Marketing & Communications Director, at abird@usbsf.com or 518-354-2250 with media inquiries.

Results: 

Women’s skeleton race #1:

1. Maxi Just (GER) 1:51.78 (56.17, 55.61); 2. Elina Galieva (RUS) 1:52.23 (56.25, 55.98); 3. Kim Meylemans (GER) 1:52.61 (56.51, 56.10); 4. Savannah Graybill (USA) 1:52.75 (56.52, 56.23);…10. Meghan Sullivan (USA) 1:53.84 (57.31, 56.53);

Women’s skeleton race #2:

1. Maxi Just (GER) 1:51.24 (55.78, 55.46); 2. Sarah Sartor (GER) 1:51.95 (56.02, 55.93); 3. Lena Joch (GER) 1:51.98 (56.10, 55.88);…6. Savannah Graybill (USA) 1:52.24 (56.30, 55.94);…8. Meghan Sullivan (USA) 1:52.77 (56.72, 56.05);

Men’s skeleton race #1:

1. Alexander Mutovin (RUS) 1:48.42 (54.31, 54.11); 2. Kilian von Schleinitz (GER) 1:48.88 (54.62, 54.26); 3. Ronald Auderset (SUI) 1:49.17 (54.74, 54.43);…11. Greg West (USA) 1:49.68 (54.99, 54.69);…25. Allen Blackwell (USA) (55.70, DNS); 

Men’s skeleton race #2:

1. Kilian von Schleinitz (GER) 1:48.46 (54.19, 54.27); 2. Alexander Mutovin (RUS) 1:48.47 (54.44, 54.03); 3. Pavel Kulikov (RUS) 1:48.71 (54.44, 54.27);…16. Greg West (USA) 1:50.20 (55.03, 55.17);…18. Allen Blackwell (USA) 1:50.48 (55.43, 55.05);

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The United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. The USBSF would like to thank its sponsors, suppliers and contributors for their support: BMW of North America, Under Armour, United States National Guard, Kampgrounds of America, WIDIA, Vivat!, Global Forwarding, KBC Helmets, Azad Watches, Latta Kefir, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Autism Speaks, Park City Lodging, EDAS/Ripxx, UberSense, Tesa Tape and Ferris Mfg. Corp. For more information, please visit the USBSF website at http://bobsled.teamusa.org.

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