Austrian skeleton athlete Janine Flock leads the women's skeleton competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics after two strong runs on Friday — and history is on the 36-year-old's side.
Flock opened the event as the first slider down the track, posting a time of 57.22 seconds to set a new track record. She backed it up in Run 2 to finish the first day of heats with a combined time of 1:54.48, holding a 0.04-second lead over the field.
Germany's Susanne Kreher sits second, with PyeongChang 2018 silver medalist Jacqueline Pfeifer in third. Reigning Olympic champion Hannah Neise now sits fourth, 0.24 seconds back.
Though defending world champion Kimberly Bos subsequently finds herself in a deep hole at 13th — 1.38 seconds off the pace.
The midpoint lead carries historical weight in the women's skeleton: in every previous four-run Olympic women's skeleton event, the halfway leader has finished no worse than second.
However, Flock knows that statistic doesn't guarantee a podium finish. She led through three runs at the 2018 PyeongChang Games before a rough final run dropped her to fourth — missing the podium by 0.02 seconds. She finished ninth at Sochi 2014 and 10th at Beijing 2022.
Flock is one of the most decorated skeleton athletes never to win an Olympic medal. She has three World Cup overall titles, 15 World Cup wins, and 45 career World Cup podiums.
"I just tried to do what I've been doing for 20 years now," Flock said. "Having a really good run, enjoying what I'm doing."
How to watch women's skeleton at the 2026 Winter Olympics
The final two skeleton runs are set for Saturday.
Run 3 starts at 12 PM ET, with the final medal event starting at 1:35 PM ET, live on Peacock.
US skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender will not compete at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport denied her appeal concerning alleged point manipulation by Canadian officials.
The tribunal determined that Uhlaender's dispute fell outside the 10-day window preceding February 6th's Opening Ceremony. The decision appears to exhaust all options for the five-time Olympian to compete in what would have been her sixth Winter Games.
The controversy dates to Uhlaender's final qualifying race on January 11th in Lake Placid, New York. That's when Canadian skeleton coach Joe Cecchini texted Uhlaender telling her he had bad news. In a recorded phone conversation, he subsequently appeared to outline his plan to manipulate the qualifying competition's point system.
"We've had some crazy races that have not gone our way this year," Cecchini said in the recording. "And I'm like, 'I can just eliminate any possibilities here.'"
Cecchini withdrew four Canadian athletes from the race, reducing available ranking points and preventing Uhlaender from earning enough points to qualify for Milan Cortina.
Canada remains unsanctioned despite widespread Katie Uhlaender support
The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation investigated the Uhlaender case and supported her allegations. Afterwards, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee concluded she was sidelined due to unfair actions at Lake Placid. However, Team Canada remains without any international sanctions.
Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton defended the decision as appropriate and aligned with athlete welfare and sport integrity. Despite growing support from officials acknowledging the system was manipulated, no one has intervened.
41-year-old Uhlaender as competed in five Winter Olympics, registering her best performance in 2014 with a fourth-place final finish at the Sochi Winter Games.