S. Korean Yun Sung-bin wins 2nd skeleton World Cup title of season

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korean skeleton slider Yun Sung-bin has captured his second World Cup title of the season in Canada. Yun won the third leg of the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup in Whistler, Canada, on Saturday (local time) with the combined time of 1 minute and 44.34 seconds after two runs. Nikita Tregubov of Russia was second at 1:45.09, followed by Tomass Dukurs of Latvia at 1:45.33. This was Yun's second World Cup gold medal in the 2017-18 season after winning his first one in Park City, Utah, last week. The 23-year-old also has a silver from the season opener in Lake Placid, New York. With the latest victory, Yun became the first Asian to win consecutive skeleton World Cup gold medals. He is also now No. 1 in World Cup rankings this season with 660 points, 49 points above Martins Dukurs. In Canada, Yun was the top finisher in both heats, completing his first race with a track record of 51.99 seconds and second in 52.35 seconds. He also had the fastest start in both runs. "I'm very happy that I earned a good result again after the second World Cup race," Yun said. "I think it was possible because I do have some experience in North America. I will work hard to get the same results in Europe." Yun's next destination will be a World Cup race in Winterberg, Germany, on Dec. 8. Yun is widely viewed as South Korea's best skeleton medal hope at the 2018 Winter Games on the home track in PyeongChang. He finished second in the ISBF World Cup rankings last season behind Martins Dukurs. kdon@yna.co.kr (END)