Hollingsworth wins World Cup skeleton race

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.(AP) Noelle Pikus-Pace glanced at the results and beamed as she always seems to after a World Cup skeleton race.

Canada, host of the upcoming Winter Olympics, was atop the podium at Mount Van Hoevenberg on Friday, and Mellisa Hollingsworth's triumph over Shelley Rudman of Great Britain gave Canada its third medal in the first two races of the season.

“I think they're trying to send a message,” said Pikus-Pace, the top U.S. finisher after a solid fifth. “This season is really critical. Everybody is out for that gold medal and coming out strong. This is the most competitive season we've had since I've been a part of the sport. It's very, very tough competition.”

Hollingsworth led after a first-heat run of 57.54 seconds and finished the two-heat race in 1 minute, 54.85 seconds to edge Rudman by 0.23 seconds. Rudman finished just 0.05 seconds ahead of world champion Marion Trott of Germany, who took the bronze in 1:55.13.

“We definitely have come out with a great start, having two podiums,” said Hollingsworth, who was third last week at Park City, just behind silver-medal-winning teammate Amy Gough. “It's a great start to hopefully a great ending to the season.”

Amy Williams of Great Britain was fourth in 1:55.36. Katie Uhlaender of the United States finished 12th in 1:56.15. Teammate Rebecca Sorensen was next in 1:56.20.

Anja Huber of Germany, who won the season-opener, did not compete because of an ankle injury.

Last week's World Cup opener was trimmed to one run because of heavy snow, and the sliders were thrown another curve on Friday with a soft track. A steady overnight rain in the snowless Adirondack Mountains and temperatures in the 40s left some water on the course and made the race much different from the fast conditions that prevailed during a week of training.

“It was really difficult,” Trott said. “The track was slower. The timing was not so OK, but the problem was for all the athletes. I'm happy with the results.”

The race jury decided to spritz the 19-turn track after every fifth slider, and that left Uhlaender staring in disbelief. She was 16th after the first heat and already out of contention.

“I was always the last one to go before the spritz,” said Uhlaender, who's been rehabbing a torn left knee cap for the past 13 weeks following surgery. “That's a huge advantage.

“It's not bad luck. It's a really unfair race,” Uhlaender said. “Usually, when you have a top-10 draw, you get good ice. I'm really disappointed, but all I can do is put it behind me. I was hungry in Park City. I'm really hungry now.”

Pikus-Pace, a former world champion who plans to retire after the season, had mixed emotions afterward.

“I'm happy. It's a warm day. We were training 2 seconds faster than this. It's really hard to adjust, but that comes with our competition,” she said. “You really have to learn how to be adaptive and understand the weather plays a big role in how you finish.

“It's early (in the season), but it's really kind of weird because this is my last season competing,” she said. “I've been doing this for 10 years, it's a big part of my life. So when I stand at the starting line I know that these are my last runs, this is my last race here. It brings that emotion into it.”

Huber did not race because she rolled an ankle while jogging along the Lake Placid track on Sunday and was back in Germany rehabbing.

“Even though we're competitors, we never wish any harm to come to any of the athletes,” Pikus-Pace said. “She was in a really good position, so it's really sad to see her go. I think we'd all rather beat everybody when they're at their best. Hopefully, she'll be back and competing in no time.”

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