Mellisa Hollingsworth finished her season the way she wanted to.
With a silver medal at last week’s skeleton world championships in Lake Placid, N.Y., the 31-year-old, who lives near Airdrie, has put herself in a good position to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
The Eckville native, who finished fourth overall on the World Cup circuit this season, had a four-run combined time of 3:42.50. American Katie Uhlaender earned gold with a time of 3:42.33. Elizabeth Yarnold of Great Britain came in third place in a time of 3:42.69.
“It is just awesome,” Hollingsworth said.
“I had four consistent runs and that’s all you can ask for in this kind of race. I’m not tapped out yet though. I didn’t have the strongest pushes, so we have some adjustments to work out there. But it was a great day and we are definitely on track two years out from the 2014 Sochi Olympics.”
Hollingsworth, an Olympic bronze medallist in 2006 and fifth-place finisher at Vancouver 2010, earned her third world championship medal in her 17-year career. She earned silver in 2000 in Austria and bronze last year in Germany.
She won two gold medals and two bronze medals on the World Cup circuit during the 2011-12 season.
“At the beginning of the season, the whole focus for Duff (head coach Gibson) and I was about Lake Placid,” Hollingsworth said. “To meet our goals is huge. My entire team is a critical part of this success. From Duff to our team manager and my amazing teammates; this is the best team I’ve been on in 17 years. Everyone is selfless and respectful and we cheer each other on. It is a great environment to be a part of.”
Hollingsworth returned home earlier this week and said she will now focus on training for a return to rodeo, including a stop at the Airdrie Pro Rodeo in July, and the ladies’ barrel racing circuit this summer.
“I get back Monday night (Feb. 27) and I’ll be on my horse Tuesday morning,” she said.
