BEIJING (AP) 鈥� Germany has its first Olympic skeleton champion, and the country is simply sliding away from all challengers so far at the Beijing Olympics.
That's no surprise.
This, however, was: China has its first Olympic sliding medal 鈥� ever.
Christopher Grotheer was a runaway winner in the men鈥檚 skeleton event that ended Friday night, the first German to win gold in the discipline where sliders navigate the icy chute headfirst at speeds that can exceed 80 mph.
Grotheer鈥檚 four-run time over two days of competition was 4:01.01. Axel Jungk, another German, won the silver medal in 4:01.67 and Yan Wengang of China won the bronze in 4:01.77.
There have been five gold medals handed out so far in sliding events at these Beijing Games 鈥� all five of them won by Germans. Germany went 4-for-4 in luge events to open the sliding competitions in Beijing, and now has eight medals through five events at the Yanqing Sliding Center.
The rest of the world, combined, has seven.
The German sliding medal haul is only going to keep growing. and the world鈥檚 most dominant sliding nation will have contenders in all four of the bobsled events as well 鈥� including heavily favored Francesco Friedrich in the two- and four-man bobsled competitions.
But for the Chinese, Yan's bronze was like gold. A country that is relatively new to the sliding world invested tons of time and money into contending at these games, and nearly came away with two medals Friday night. Yin Zheng was fifth for the host nation.
A Ukrainian skeleton athlete ended his third run by revealing a small sign to the cameras urging peace in his homeland. The sign was printed on a blue-and-yellow piece of paper, matching the colors of Ukraine鈥檚 flag.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my position. Like any normal people, I don鈥檛 want war,鈥� Heraskevych said. 鈥淚 want peace in my country and I want peace in the world. It鈥檚 my position, so I fight for that. I fight for peace.鈥�
Heraskevych finished 18th.
Latvia鈥檚 Martins Dukurs, the 11-time World Cup overall champion, 61-time World Cup race winner and six-time world champion, was once again denied Olympic gold. He finished seventh in his fifth Olympics; he has won silver twice, plus was fourth and seventh in his other Olympic appearances.
Defending Olympic champion Yun Sungbin of Korea was 12th in what could well be his final race, after saying this week that he hasn鈥檛 had the same passion for sliding.
鈥淚鈥檓 not really enjoying this sport now," Yun said.
Andrew Blaser, the only U.S. slider in the race, was 21st and didn鈥檛 qualify for the fourth run. Only the top 20 in the field advanced to the final heat, so Blaser鈥檚 first Olympic appearance ended one slide earlier than he wanted.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of emotions that happen at the end of a race,鈥� Blaser said. 鈥淯nfortunately, not getting a fourth run ... they鈥檙e experiences that I鈥檝e had, but I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 anything that really preps you for that feeling. It feels like a weight just kind of drops on you.鈥�
Blaser hasn鈥檛 made a final decision about whether he鈥檒l continue sliding, at least for a full four-year period through the 2026 Olympics. He said he鈥檒l likely decide by May.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not how you race once you鈥檙e here,鈥� Blaser said. 鈥淔or some people, it is. For me, it wasn鈥檛. It was everything that turned me into the athlete, the coach, the slider that I am today and I have to remember that those things are still there regardless of the outcome.鈥�
Midway through Blaser鈥檚 interview session, Spanish slider Ander Mirambell 鈥� who was 24th in the 25-man field 鈥� walked past the American and gave him a big smile along with some congratulatory slaps on the shoulder.
鈥淪uperstar. The first time I started sliding with him, and I told him one day you鈥檒l be in the Olympic Games,鈥� Mirambell said as he turned toward Blaser. 鈥淎nd now you are here. Amazing.鈥�
With that, Blaser broke into a smile.
鈥淚t鈥檚 cool to see and to get those memories,鈥� Blaser said.
Grotheer鈥檚 lead was 0.70 seconds entering Friday night; it grew to 0.85 seconds after the third run, with Jungk losing a bit more time with a hard slam into a wall near the finish line.
At that point, the only thing that could stop Grotheer from winning the gold medal was a massive mistake.
Didn't happen. He was perfect. And with that, Germany's perfect sliding record at these Olympics remained intact.
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Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
