Dukurs hits skeleton pole position after Igls success
BySportsbeat
Updated 04/02/2017 at 12:45 GMT
Martins Dukurs delivered a track record in both runs to secure skeleton World Cup victory on the 1976 Olympic track in Igls, on Friday, putting himself in the perfect position for the overall title.
SKELETON Olympic silver medallist Martins Dukurs
Image credit: Reuters
The Latvian won the opening heat in 52.01 seconds, an effort he bettered by 0.13 seconds in a mightily-impressive second run, enough to beat Olympic champion Alexander Tretyakov.
The Russian finished 0.58 seconds off the pace, with Yun Sung-bin a further tenth of a second off the pace. The rest of the field finished more than a second adrift of Dukurs.
Victory for the 32-year-old was also a third of his season, though more significantly came a place back at the top of the overall World Cup standings.
He leads the way on 1437 points, ahead of South Korean Yun who sits 24 points behind, with Dukurs needing a second place in the last event in PyeongChang to secure an eighth World Cup title.
However, victory for Yun on home ice would see him become the first from South Korea to take the overall title.
Axel Jungk of Germany sits third but, with 157 points between him and Dukurs, cannot throw his hat into the ring for the top honours.
Sportsbeat 2017
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement