Dukurs and Bos reign supreme in skeleton World Cup

Martins Dukurs completed a sensational finish to the skeleton World Cup season to win the Crystal Globe and cement his status as the favourite for Olympic gold next month. The Latvian slider won his third World Cup gold in four events at the season-finale in St Moritz to sew up his 11th Crystal Globe in 13 seasons. With the event also doubling up as the European Championships, Dukurs' win secured a 12th European title in a row. He timed 2:14.39 across his two runs, beating Germany's Alexander Gassner into second by 0.45s while Gassner's compatriot Christopher Grotheer was third, a further 0.06s back. Great Britain's Matt Weston continued his promising season by finishing ninth. Dukurs, who didn't record his first win of the season until the fifth event, finished with 1623 points, 72 more than Alex Jungk – who was fourth in Switzerland. In the women's event, Kimberley Bos secured her first Crystal Globe with a second-place finish. The Dutch star notched her sixth podium from eight events but was beaten to the top step by Australia's Jaclyn Narracott. As the top European, Bos also took home her first European Championship gold and will head to Beijing as the Olympic favourite. She finished with 1600 World Cup points to beat Austria's Janine Flock on 1481, while Russia's Elena Nikitina was third with 1458. Bos clocked 2:17.62 here but was beaten by just 0.06s by surprise winner Narracott, while Canada's Mirela Rahneva completed the World Cup podium in third, a further 0.60s back. As the second-highest European, fourth-placed Flock took home European Championship silver, while fifth-placed Italian Valentina Margaglio took bronze. Sportsbeat 2022