New personal best for Catalan skeleton racer in Winter Olympics

The Catalan skeleton racer, Ander Mirambell, has finished in 23rd place overall. Although he didn’t make it through to the fourth and final heat of the skeleton run, he achieved a new Winter Olympics personal best. 

The first Catalan to ever practice the sport, Mirambell finished 24th in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and 26th in Russia in 2014.

The skeleton event, a breakneck speed run downhill, head first, was won by the South Korean Yun Sungbin. A matter of seconds can make the difference between going home with a medal or nothing at all. In Mirambell’s final run, he was only three seconds off first place.

Only one Catalan remains in the games now. The skier Quim Salarich is making his highly anticipated Winter Olympics debut in the Alpine skiing category on February 22. The twenty-four-year-old called it “a dream fulfilled” via his Twitter account.

The Catalan snowboarder, Queralt Castellet, had an impressive run at this year’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, falling short of the podium in seventh place, earning her an Olympic diploma all the same.