Claus, Schwartz Favored In Skeleton

Skeleton will award both its medals tonight. Despite being a 50 point sport, with only two medals each gold will still be huge in the fantasy standings.

4:55 & 7:50 PM PST - Skeleton
On the women's side, the American Noelle Pikus-Pace (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers) needs to make up 0.55 seconds for gold and 0.16 to medal at all. She's currently in fifth. In keeping with the feminist spirit of this blog, I will not comment on why I chose to post Noelle's picture even though she's not going to get a medal.
The leader after two rounds, Amy Williams of Great Britain (Dave Spence/Paragons), was cleared to race today after an American appeal over the shape of her helmet failed. She's ahead by 0.3 seconds which is an eternity in the gravity sports.

Germany (Tim Lavoie/Fightin' Ovechkins) has two lugers in the top five, Kerstin Szymkowiak and Anja Huber. The favored Canadian Melissa Hollingsworth (Joy Sadaly/Olympic Ring Worm Wood Stock Market District Attorney) is third.

Latvian Martins Dukurs (Brian Schwartz/Nordique Combined) is first in the men's skeleton. Canadian Jon Montgomery (Joy Sadaly/Olympic Ring Worm Wood Stock Market District Attorney) is the only other athlete with a realistic chance to overtake him. In third is Russian Alexander Tretyakov (undrafted), but there's a huge group from third through eighth with around the same times.

Others in contention for bronze are Matthias Guggenberger of Austria (Ellis Kunka/Cornballers), Krisian Bromley of Great Britain (Dave Spence/Paragons, Tomass Dukurs of Latvia, Michael Douglas of Canada (Joy Sadaly/Olympic Ring Worm Wood Stock Market District Attorney) and Zach Lund of Team USA (Adam Claus/Ice Lugers).