Wyatt wins men's World Cup skeleton race, with Grotheer sidelined by injury

Wyatt wins men's World Cup skeleton race, with Grotheer sidelined by injury

SIGULDA, Latvia — Christopher Grotheer is still unbeaten this season. He's just no longer the World Cup men's skeleton points leader.

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Britain's Marcus Wyatt took over the World Cup lead with a win in a race Friday at Sigulda, Latvia. Grotheer — the reigning Olympic champion who had won all four World Cup races entering this weekend — was injured during training on Tuesday and did not compete. That opened the door for Wyatt to take over as the points leader.

“I’m already on my way home to clarify exactly what’s going on and what the next few weeks will look like,” Grotheer wrote on social media. “A big thank you to the medical department who tried everything to give me a start. In the end, we decided together against a start so as not to jeopardize the rest of the season and the other goals of the season.”

Wyatt got the win over Britain's Matt Weston on Friday, with China's Yin Zheng finishing third. Wyatt now has 1,037 points in the standings, just ahead of Weston's 1,030. Grotheer remains third with 900 — but faces very long odds now of winning the season points title with just three races remaining.

Austin Florian was the top U.S. men's finisher, placing seventh.

In the women's race, Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands was the fifth winner in as many races on the circuit this season. She was first on Friday, with Austria's Janine Flock in second and Belgium's Kim Meylemans finishing third. Mystique Ro was seventh to lead the U.S. women.

Reigning Olympic champion Hannah Niese of Germany leads the points race with 988, ahead of Flock at 940 and Bos at 897.

The three skeleton World Cups left on this season's schedule: Jan. 3 at Winterberg, Germany, Jan. 10 at St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Feb. 7 at Lillehammer, Norway. Up next

Luge: World Cup at Oberhof, Germany, Saturday and Sunday.

Bobsled: World Cup at Sigulda, Latvia, Saturday and Sunday.

Skeleton: World Cup at Winterberg, Germany, on Jan. 3.

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