Shelley Rudman sixth at the Skeleton World Champs halfway mark
Britain¹s Shelley Rudman and Donna Creighton are in sixth and 12th respectively at the halfway mark of the women¹s competition at the Skeleton World Championships in Germany.
Rudman, silver medallist at the Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games, went to the championships ranked number two in the world but was only ninth after her first run today, clocking a time of 53.14 seconds. She laid down a 52.45 on the second run to climb to sixth place at the halfway mark.
Creighton, ranked sixth in the world, also made progress up the field. She was 14th after her first run with a time of 53.48, a run that began with the quickest start of the day. She climbed a couple of places to 12th at the halfway mark with a second run of 53.20.
With the German pairing of Marion Thees and Anja Huber in impressive form to occupy the top two places at the halfway mark, Andi Schmid, British Skeleton performance director, said it could be difficult for Rudman to propel her way into contention for the medal tomorrow (Saturday).
³Shelley¹s first run today wasn¹t her best,² he said. ³It¹s going to be really difficult for her to get a medal from here, but she¹s got another two runs tomorrow, so let¹s see what happens.
³Donna made too many little mistakes at the bottom of the track, but she gets another chance tomorrow,² he added. ³For us this season has been all about taking finding the right athletes and team for the next three years.²
The women¹s competition concludes tomorrow (Saturday)
Women¹s World Championships standings (after two of four rounds) 1: Marion Thees (GER) 1:44.43 2: Anja Huber (GER) 1:44.58 (+0.15) 3: Mellissa Hollingsworth (CAN) 1:44.98 (+0.55) 6: Shelley Rudman (GBR) 1:49.59 (+1.16) 12: Donna Creighton (GBR) 1:46.68 (+2.25)
