Alexander Tretiakov is one of the best skeleton riders in the world, but he will not be in Pyeongchang. His 2014 gold medal was stripped for doping, and he was banned from all future Olympics. So today’s IBSF World Cup race in Innsbruck, Austria, might just have been his last chance at a major medal. It went poorly. It started poorly:
I hope he still managed to have fun on the way down, that looks fun. Especially the mats at the end. Tretiakov finished 34th.
The win went to Martins Dukurs, who finished just behind Tretiakov in Sochi and will likely be awarded that 2014 gold medal, which would make him Latvia’s first ever winter Olympic gold medalist. Dukurs is the favorite heading into Pyeongchang.