Hallie Clarke crowned women’s skeleton world champion at IBSF World Championships
Canadian teen Hallie Clarke is the new world champion in women’s skeleton–and the youngest ever to do it.
The 19-year-old’s four run combined time was 3:52.27, edging out Kim Meylemans of Belgium (3:51.49) and Hannah Neise of Germany (3:51.53) to top the podium at the IBSF World Championships in Winterberg, Germany.
Clarke was in first place after the first two runs on Thursday. Her two runs on Friday were faster. She set the second fastest time in the third run, ahead only of Neise, with whom she shared first place at the time. The Canadian was unstoppable in the final run, setting the fastest time of the entire competition to clinch her World Champion title.
Clarke herself was surprised when she took the lead in competition saying: “I’ve only had two races before here in Winterberg. I had two great starts and I think my runs here were both consistent. But the fact that I’m ahead here is a total surprise for me too.”
However, Clarke has history with the Winterberg track. Last year, while representing the United States, she won the gold medal at the Under-20 World Championships on this same track. During the 2022-2023 season, she also won two World Cup silver medals in the senior category.
Fellow Canadians Mirela Rahneva and Jane Channell finished seventh and eleventh, respectively.