North Vancouver's Jane Channell just missed the podium while also setting a track record competing in her first World Cup skeleton race on her home track at the Whistler Sliding Centre Jan. 22.
Channell, a former sprinter at Handsworth secondary and Simon Fraser University, is credited as the first athlete to reach elite status training at the Whistler centre that was created for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The recent World Cup race was the first one held in Whistler since 2012 and Channell showed well, posting a two-run time of 1:49.87 to finish fourth. Channell has already racked up World Cup silver and bronze medals during the 2015-16 season, her second year on the circuit, and after the Whistler race she admitted that she was feeling the pressure of being the hometown favourite.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous," she stated in a Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton release. "You never want to disappoint the hometown crowd. It would have been great to stand on the podium, but I can't be disappointed with fourth place. I'll have a smile on my face tonight."
Channell was in fifth after her opening run but moved up after a strong second pass.
"The first run I had a couple of big mistakes so on run two I knew I needed to put it all together," she said. She did just that, blasting out of the blocks on her second run to post a start time of 4.84 seconds, set a new start record time for the Whistler Sliding Centre.
"I know how to get down this track. It was a matter of keeping my composure (after the first run), stay relaxed and let the sled fly," said Channell.
World Cup leader Tina Hermann of Germany won the event, posting a two-run time of 1:48.90, while Anne O'Shea of the United States took silver in 1:49.09 and Germany's Jacqueline Loelling finished third in 1:49.48.
