2022 Olympic skeleton in review: Germany sweeps second sliding sport with historic golds

After crushing all four luge events, Germany continued its sliding sport dominance in skeleton. The country earned its first men's skeleton gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics, then went six-for-six on sleds with another unprecedented win in women's skeleton.

These Games generated additional headlines with the first Australian medalist in the women's event; however, they also marked the only competition since that discipline's 2002 introduction that Great Britain failed to land a female on the podium, as well as the only occasion since 1948 that any British athlete missed a medal in the sport.

Also in the women's competition: One of America's most beloved and resilient Winter Olympians slid "farewell" after five consecutive appearances dating back to Torino 2006. 

Relive all the skeleton history made on the Yanqing National Sliding Centre's highly technical and tricky Xiaohaituo Bobsled and Luge Track, nicknamed "The Dragon."

SEE RESULTS | WATCH FULL EVENT REPLAYS 

SEE MORE: Germany's golden Grotheer, China's Yan make skeleton history

SEE MORE: Christopher Grotheer wins Germany's first skeleton gold

Men's skeleton

GOLD:  Christopher Grotheer, GER, 4:01.01
SILVER: Axel Jungk, GER, (+ 0.66)
BRONZE: Yan Wengang, CHN, (+ 0.76)

WATCH FULL EVENT REPLAYS:

• HEATS 1 AND 2  
• HEATS 3 AND 4 

It took eight Olympic skeleton competitions across 92 years for Germany to secure a gold medal, but the country finally claimed victory at the 2022 Winter Olympics via four-time world championship winner Christopher Grotheer.

Compatriot Axel Jungk, who has struggled with injuries the past few years, earned silver in his first full season back on circuit.

China's rookie Yan Wengang earned a historic bronze medal, the country's first of any kind in the sport. The host nation claimed men's skeleton gold at each of the last previous Winter Games, beginning with Vancouver 2010.

SEE MORE: Neise grabs skeleton gold after Narracott and Bos speed up

SEE MORE: Neise tops Narracott for gold, Germany sweeps skeleton and luge

Women's skeleton

GOLD: Hannah Neise, GER, 4:07.62
SILVER: Jaclyn Narracott, AUS, (+0.62)
BRONZE: Kimberley Bos, NED, (+0.84)

WATCH FULL EVENT REPLAYS:

• HEATS 1 AND 2
• HEATS 3 AND 4

21-year-old German Hannah Neise started behind the 8 ball in Heats 3 and 4, leaking 0.21 seconds from the top. But she kept her cool and laid down two aggressive, lightning-fast runs to claim victory over 31-year-old Australian Jaclyn Narracott, who rocked the field with a surprise first-place standing after the initial pair of heats.

Narracott's resulting silver is Australia's first Olympic medal in skeleton.

Kimberley Bos – the 2021-22 Skeleton World Cup overall winner – earned the Netherlands' first Olympic medal in the sport. Bos leapt four standings and overcame a 0.39-second deficit to clinch bronze.

SEE MORE: Uhlaender shares touching moment with family

SEE MORE: U.S. skeleton at the 2022 Winter Olympics: Five-timer Katie Uhlaender leads smallest team since 2002

THE AMERICANS

Team USA's 32-year-old Idahoan Andrew Blaser, in his first Olympics, finished 21st. The only American competing in men's skeleton, he did not advance to the fourth heat. One of the few openly gay athletes at the Games, Blaser used a rainbow-colored sled. 

Capping off a brilliant career filled with world championship titles and 12 surgeries, Team USA's five-time Olympian Katie Uhlaender upped her standing from eighth place at the midpoint to sixth after four heats. This was her third top-10 finish at the Games. 

Kelly Curtis – who at PyeongChang 2018 made history as the first Black skeleton athlete to compete for the United States at the Olympics – finished 21st after three heats.

SEE MORE: Kelly Curtis first Black U.S. skeleton athlete at Olympics

Records, by the numbers

Australia, China, the Netherlands

• Won their 1st Olympic skeleton medals

Germany

• Won 2 skeleton golds, 1 in each discipline
• Extended its sliding sports streak to 6

Great Britain

• Did not earn an Olympic medal in skeleton for the first time in 74 years

The host nation

• 16 years since the last Games where the host nation did not win men's skeleton (Italy in Torino 2006)

The United States

• The United States sent 3 skeleton athletes at the 2022 Games, the lowest number in 20 years

Katie Uhlaender

• Ties for U.S. woman with most Winter Olympic appearances at 5
• The only sliding sport athlete to appear at 5 Games