Bobsleigh and Skeleton - IBSF World Championships - St. Moritz-Celerina Olympia Bobrun track, St. Moritz, Switzerland - January 9, 2026 Belgium's Kim Meylemans in action during women's skeleton heat 1. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Jan 9 (Reuters) - Belgium's Kim Meylemans clinched her second European Championship skeleton title in St. Moritz on Friday, as the countdown to next month's Milano Cortina Winter Olympics gathers pace.
The 29-year-old, who in 2024 became Belgium's first European champion, set a track record with a time of 1:10.23 in the second run at the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun.
The race also served as a leg on the 2025-26 Skeleton World Cup calendar, with the European title and medals awarded to the highest-placing Europeans.
"I had my best run -- especially the second one, which was the best I've ever had here -- so I'm really happy with the performance," Meylemans told IBSF.
"It's a super special place. The ice is just lovely... I really like it here."
American Kelly Curtis finished second, while Meylemans' partner Nicole Silveira of Brazil claimed third place.
In the European Championship ranking, Britain's Tabitha Stoecker won silver after finishing fourth, with the bronze going to Germany's Jacqueline Pfeifer, who was fifth.
Meylemans is closing in on her first overall World Cup title and leads the standings with 1,243 points ahead of the final stop in Altenberg on January 16. She is 130 points ahead of 2018 Olympic silver medallist Pfeifer in second.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)
