Axel Jungk and Christopher Grotheer secured silver and bronze in the men's skeleton at the Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Britain's Matt Weston took gold, as the two Germans emotionally mounted the podium. This result is seen as a success given the challenging season.
In Cortina d'Ampezzo's Pista Olimpica, Axel Jungk and Christopher Grotheer claimed second and third places in the men's skeleton, behind Olympic champion Matt Weston of Great Britain. This double medal result for Germany exceeded expectations, particularly given the season's challenges.
Jungk, who had previously won silver in Peking four years ago—with Grotheer as the victor then—said after the race: 'I was shaking until the finish line because I didn't know if it was enough. The last run wasn't pretty, but it doesn't matter. The main thing is the silver medal.' It was his fourth runner-up finish in a major event. Turning 35 in a month, Jungk has lived in Dortmund for nearly two years but continues to compete for Dresdner SC and emphasized his ties to Dresden: 'I love Dresden.' His fan club, the 'orange bunch' with around 50 members in orange attire, cheered him on loudly on site. 'That means a lot to me. It's so nice that my people are here,' he said.
Grotheer, the 33-year-old from Thuringia and Oberhof, missed the season's start due to injury and rated his bronze higher than his 2022 triumph in Peking: 'It was a really tough season for me. I'm just very proud of myself.' The introverted athlete became unusually emotional, with tears in his eyes, much like gold medalist Weston, who has dominated the skeleton discipline for two to three years.
In the women's race, Susanne Kreher was unexpectedly in second at halftime, just 0.04 seconds behind Austria's Janine Flock. Jacqueline Pfeiffer, Jungk's current training partner, followed in third ahead of Hannah Neise in fourth. Further medals for Germany could come on Saturday evening and Sunday with the mixed staffel premiere, though successes at the Cortina Sliding Centre are not as golden as those of the lugers.
