Beijing 2022 skeleton wrap-up – top stories, moments and records
From Germany's first ever skeleton Olympic gold to a moment to remember for hosts the People's Republic of China, take a look at skeleton's most memorable moments at Beijing 2022, the best quotes and all the medals.
Skeleton
It's strange to think that powerhouse sliding nation Germany won its first-ever men's skeleton Olympic medals at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Christopher Grotheer went into the men's race as the heavy favourite, and the reigning world champion delivered a masterclass at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre to clinch gold.
But if truth be told, the Olympic title was surely never in doubt for the Germans, with Grotheer's compatriot Axel Jungk - who has battled back from several injuries in the past Olympic cycles - sealing the silver medal.
There was also jubilation in the stands as men's bronze medallist Yan Wengang won the People's Republic of China's first ever Olympic medal in sliding sports.
Germany had a historic result as well in the woman's event, with Hannah Neise clinching gold and becoming the first woman to win a skeleton event for Germany at the Olympic Winter Games. Jaclyn Narracott also made history claiming silver and winning the first ever medal in skeleton for Australia.
Current World Cup winner, Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands, launched an epic fightback from 10th place from heat 1 to get onto the podium with a bronze medal.
Top 3 moments
1- Germany wins first men's skeleton Olympic gold
After winning the past two world championship titles, this was always Grotheer's race to lose.
But the pressure of winning his nation's first men's Olympic skeleton medal, coupled with a star-studded line up of rivals including resurgent six-time world champion Martins Dukurs and Olympic champions Alexander Tretiakov and Yun Sung-bin, meant that nothing was guaranteed.
In the end Grotheer showed nerves of steel to execute three perfect runs which sealed him, and Germany, a place in skeleton history.
His memories of finishing eighth at PyeongChang 2018 have been well and truly buried.
2- Germany breaks Great Britain's dominance in women's skeleton
For the first time since Torino 2006, the Olympic title did not land in the hands of Great Britain, who had topped the podium over the last three editions.
With double Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold retired, Germany's Hannah Neise took her chance. She started in eighth position in heat 1 but was unstoppable from that moment on. She set the best times in the three remaining runs, breaking the track record in heat 3 (1:01.44) to move straight to the top step of the podium.
Her teammate Tina Hermann was close to the medals too, but Kimberley Bos' incredible fightback by left her in fourth.
3 - China wins first sliding Olympic medal
It would be fair to say that Yan Wengang's bronze medal was a welcome upset for the hosts in the men's skeleton event.
The 24-year-old Olympic debutant couldn't have sealed the medal in more dramatic fashion either.
He was in the hunt for silver until slipping to sixth on his third run. With pressure surely at an all-time high in his career, he unleashed the quickest fourth run out of any athlete to take his deserved place on the podium and his name in history.
What they said
Unbelievable. I have dreamt of this since I was a child, now the dream has come true. I was very nervous before the first run and I couldn't sleep well last night either. Now I'm just proud of myself and everyone around me who made this possible.
Christopher Grotheer reacts after winning his first Olympic title.
Winning a medal for my country is simply the greatest thing. I am very happy that I was able to catch up in the fourth run. I hope that I can also inspire many people for the sport of skeleton and that new athletes will start with the sport.
China's Yan Wengang on making his nation proud in his first Olympic Games.
I’ve really worked hard on this. I’ve tried to relax as much as possible, and I’ve realised that when I’m relaxed everything works out much better. Particularly mental strength has a lot to do with the way I perform, so I’ve really decided to ensure that I continue working on that. Here, it’s the first time it’s really worked out for me extremely well.
Germany's Hannah Neise on her mental strength during the competition.
Full medal list in the skeleton at Beijing 2022
Women:
Gold: Hannah Neise (Germany)
Silver: Jaclyn Narracott (Australia)
Bronze: Kimberley Bos (Netherlands)
Men:
Gold: Christopher Grotheer (Germany)
Silver: Axel Jungk (Germany)
Bronze: Yan Wengang (China)