China's Yin Zheng earns men's skeleton bronze at IBSF World Cup

Yin Zheng of China earned the men's skeleton bronze medal at the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (ISBF) World Cup in Cortina, Italy, on Friday.

On the famous Eugenio Monti track, 35 athletes lined up in the men's skeleton event. Starting seventh, Yin, a double World Cup bronze medalist last season in Sigulda and Yanqing, produced a stunning opening run. He rocketed down in 56.79 seconds, the fastest time of the entire competition and the first official track record since Cortina's rebuild, putting him top of the field after heat one.

On the second run, Yin clocked 57.23 seconds to rank 11th, but his combined time of 1:54.02 was enough to secure the bronze. World champion Matt Weston of Britain claimed gold, while Samuel Maier of Austria bagged silver. Yin's compatriots Chen Wenhao and Zhu Haifeng tied for eighth, and Lin Qinwei came in 16th.

In the women's skeleton, two Chinese took to the ice. Last season's Yanqing World Cup winner Zhao Dan posted a combined time of 1:56.96 to finish eighth, with Li Yuxi finishing 18th.