Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands wins women's skeleton world championship at Lake Placid

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — For Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands, the collection of the biggest skeleton medals is complete. Bronze at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, silver at the world championships two years ago and now, finally, she has gold.

Bos is the new world champion of her sport, turning in the fastest times in Friday's final two runs to win the title at Mount Van Hoevenberg — the fifth different woman to win the season's biggest skeleton race in the last five years.

“This year I was like, ‘I really want it.’ But you have to have it come to you," Bos said. "You can’t force sliding.”

It's the first skeleton worlds gold medal for the Netherlands and extends a run where a different woman has stood atop the podium after the year's biggest race. Tina Hermann of Germany won the world title in 2021, Hannah Neise of Germany won Olympic gold in 2022 (there are no world championships in Olympic years), Susanne Kreher of Germany won worlds in 2023, Canada's Hallie Clarke was the world champ last year and now, Bos reigns supreme.

Bos' four-run time was 3 minutes, 40.06 seconds, and her final margin of 0.67 seconds matched the biggest by a woman at the world championships in a decade. Lizzy Yarnold of Britain won by the same margin at St. Moritz for the world title in 2015.

“It's really cool. I don’t think I quite know yet what that means, but it means a lot to me because I really wanted to win a world championship,” Bos said. “Honestly, being in the lead after the first day, I was like, ‘Well, I have a good shot. I might as well make use of it.’”

Mystique Ro of the U.S. finished second in 3:40.73 and Anna Fernstaedt of the Czech Republic — whose career seemed in jeopardy after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes three years ago — was third in 3:40.81.

“This is the cherry on top,” Fernstaedt said. “I'm very happy.”

Bos was second behind Austria’s Janine Flock in the overall World Cup standings this season despite having only one medal in eight races this season — that being a win at Sigulda, Latvia. Flock moved up in the final heat on Friday night and finished fifth, one spot behind Brazil's Nicole Rocha Silveira.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-oly

Hallie Clarke, of Canada, is embraced after finishing her run during fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Mystique Ro, of the United States, celebrates during fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Nicole Rocha Silveira, of Brazil, slides during fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Anna Fernstaedt, of The Czech Republic, slides during fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Nicole Rocha Silveira, of Brazil, slides during fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Kimberley Bos, of The Netherlands, leaps in the air during fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Kimberley Bos, of The Netherlands, speaks to people during fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Kimberley Bos, of The Netherlands, leaps in the air during fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Kimberley Bos, of The Netherlands, is embraced after her run during fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Kimberley Bos, of the Netherlands, slides during her first run at the skeleton world championships, Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Kimberley Bos, of the Netherlands, slides during her first run at the skeleton world championships, Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Kimberley Bos, of The Netherlands, slides during third run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A judge has ruled an 18-year-old man charged with murder in the killing of a paddleboarder in Maine is competent to stand trial.

The death of Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart, 48, of St. George, last year shocked the community around Crawford Pond in rural Union, Maine. Authorities charged Deven Young of Frankfort, Maine, with murder in Stewart's death in July, about two weeks after Stewart's body was discovered.

The court system has thus far treated Young as a juvenile. Prosecutors in the state want to charge Young, who was 17 at the time of Stewart's death and is 18 now, as an adult. First, he needed to be deemed competent to stand trial, and a judge ruled this week that he is.

"The court finds that the defendant is competent to proceed based on the court’s finding that the juvenile has a rational, as well as a factual, understanding of the proceedings and a sufficient present ability to consult with legal counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding," wrote Maine District Court Judge Eric J. Walker on Wednesday.

Young is due back in court on May 7. Police have said a medical examiner determined Stewart's cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma.

Jeremy Pratt, an attorney for Young, declined to comment on Thursday. Prosecutors in the case also declined to comment Thursday.

Authorities have not publicly stated a possible motive in the case. Court documents about the case, which were briefly made public before being removed from the state's courts website, contained little detail other than stating that Young “did intentionally or knowingly cause the death of another human being, namely Sunshine Stewart.”

Audio recordings by the Waldo County Sheriff's Office that were obtained by news agencies earlier this year provided details about Young's history of violent behavior and mental health challenges prior to Stewart's death. The Portland Press Herald reported that Young had been waiting for behavioral health services from the state.

Stewart went missing at Crawford Pond, where she was paddleboarding, on July 2 and her body was found the next day. The pond is a popular summertime attraction for swimming, boating and fishing. Stewart lived about 21 miles (34 kilometers) from the pond in the Tenants Harbor neighborhood in St. George.

Stewart's friends and family celebrated her life with a maritime service last August. The memorial included a procession of boats, some decked out with flowers, in Tenants Harbor.

On the boats were pictures of Stewart smiling and a large sign that read, “Shine On.” Over the years, Stewart worked as a fisherman, boat captain, biologist, carpenter and bartender, friends have said.

FILE - Acquaintances of Sunshine Stewart sit on the bow of a lobster boat during a memorial service for the slain paddleboarder, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, off the coast of St. George, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)