CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Janine Flock has yet another chance at the gold medal that always seems to escape her grasp.
The 36-year-old Austrian — a four-time Olympian with no medals to show for it — held the midpoint lead in the women's skeleton race at the Milan Cortina Games on Friday night, with three Germans and two British sliders taking up the next five spots.
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A person cheers during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
China's Zhao Dan slides down the track during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Germany's Susanne Kreher waves as she arrives at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Austria's Janine Flock waves as she arrives at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Austria's Janine Flock arrives at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
“I just tried to do what I’ve been doing for 20 years now, having a really good run, enjoying the run and enjoying what I’m doing," Flock said.
Flock — who found tons of speed at the bottom of the track in her second heat, something few sliders could manage — finished her two runs in 1 minute, 54.48 seconds.
Susanne Kreher (1:54.52), 2018 Olympic silver medalist Jacqueline Pfeifer (1:54.61) and reigning Olympic gold medalist Hannah Neise (1:54.85) hold the 2-3-4 spots for Germany, while Tabitha Stoecker (1:55.01) and Freya Tarbit (1:55.16) have the next two spots for Britain.
“I’m very happy about this result," Kreher said. “I didn’t have these great training runs, so I am a bit surprised that I was so good.”
For the U.S., Kelly Curtis is 10th at the midway mark and Mystique Ro is 17th. The final two heats of the event are Saturday.
If there was a designation for best women's skeleton slider without a gold medal from the sport's biggest races — worlds and the Olympics — Flock would hold that title with ease. Her resume is beyond impressive: she's a three-time World Cup overall champion with 15 World Cup race wins, 45 World Cup medals overall, and has silver and bronze medals from the world championships.
The good news for Flock: In each of the four previous Olympics where the women’s skeleton competition was contested over four runs, the midpoint leader has never finished worse than second.
The bad news for Flock: She’ll have to exorcise a bit of a demon. She had the lead with one run left in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, then found all kinds of trouble and finished out of the medals entirely.
Flock was fourth at the 2018 Olympics, ninth in 2014 and 10th in 2022.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
A person cheers during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
China's Zhao Dan slides down the track during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Germany's Susanne Kreher waves as she arrives at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Austria's Janine Flock waves as she arrives at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Austria's Janine Flock arrives at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — All of the emotions were there, from joy to jitters and everything in between.
Well, almost everything.
The one thing Konnor Griffin didn't feel when the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop — all 19 years and 344 days of him — ahead of his big league debut Friday against the Baltimore Orioles was shock.
“I'm ready for this,” Griffin said a few hours before stepping onto the field at PNC Park as a professional for the first time.
Certainly looks that way.
All of Griffin's considerable physical gifts were on display over 2 hours and 44 electric minutes in a 5-4 victory over the Orioles.
There was the tidy double play, Pittsburgh’s first of the season, he turned in the second inning. There was the rope he hit to the wall in center field in his first at-bat in a few minutes later, a 105 mph laser off the bat against Baltimore's Kyle Bradish that scored Ryan O'Hearn and sent a jolt through a sellout crowd.
There was blistering dash from second to home on a ensuing groundball to right field by teammate Jared Triolo. There was the confidence to successfully challenge a strike call in his third at-bat. Oh, and the composure to gather a chopper he briefly bobbled before firing to first for an out to end the eighth, too.
All part of what Griffin called “hands down one of the best days of my life,” and what everyone involved with the organization hopes is the start of a long successful run for a franchise that hasn't reached the postseason in over a decade.
“He’s a difference maker, it was very apparent today,” said Pirates ace and reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, who knows a thing or two about entering the majors with outsized expectations.
Just 628 days after Pittsburgh selected him with the ninth pick in the 2024 amateur draft, the athletic and mustachioed 6-foot-3 Griffin found a No. 6 jersey hanging in his locker at PNC Park and his name penciled in the seventh spot in the lineup against the Orioles, making him the first teenage position player to reach the majors since Juan Soto did it with the Washington Nationals in 2018.
On the surface, it seems fast. Not for Griffin, who checked every box — and quickly — while sprinting through the Pirates' system. The final steps came over the last week when he hit .438 in a handful of games for Triple-A Indianapolis.
All of which made for a full-circle moment when Griffin became the youngest Pirate to get a hit in his first game since Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski did it on July 7, 1956. The club honored Mazeroski, who died in February at 1989, by having “Maz” painted into the outfield grass behind second, not far from where Griffin — who was scouted and signed by Mazeroski's son Darren — went to work on a warm spring afternoon that had a decidedly early fall playoff-like vibe.
“Darren is the reason I’m here,” Griffin said. "He believed in me and took a chance on me. That’s pretty special right there and I’m going to cherish that a long time.”
Griffin's call-up came less than two weeks after he was one of the last cuts during spring training, where he mashed three homers but also hit just .171. Rather than sulk, he headed to Triple-A and made the adjustments necessary — trying to get back to treating his job like a game of Wiffle ball back home in Mississippi — to get a call that has long felt inevitable.
“He just went right down and hit his stride and was able to reset in a couple of days,” Kelly said. “Which again, for anybody, is really impressive, especially for a 19-year-old kid whose hopes and dreams were to make the big leagues.”
Those dreams became reality when Indianapolis manager Eric Patterson called Griffin to his hotel room early Thursday and told him he was heading to The Show.
The next 24 hours were a blur.
From the short drive from Columbus to Pittsburgh to the scramble for at least 40 friends and family members to make it to the ballpark that's tucked hard against the Allegheny River in time for Friday's first pitch.
Griffin is the latest in a string of high-profile arrivals in Pittsburgh, from Skenes to rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler to catcher Henry Davis.
The future that has been talked about since general manager Ben Cherington was hired in late 2019 is finally arriving. And perhaps it's telling of how far the club has come that Griffin is joining a roster that has undergone a significant upgrade in recent months with the additions of All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe, All-Star first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn and veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna.
A year ago, fans chanted for owner Bob Nutting to sell the club during the home opener. Those calls have faded, replaced by something seemingly just as rare: optimism for a team that hasn't won a playoff series since the 1979 World Series.
“This team is loaded,” Griffin said. “I get to come in here and just be a piece of this puzzle.”
Perhaps a very big piece. For a very long time. The Pirates and Griffin have engaged in talks about a contract extension that would lock him up for most of the next decade.
Griffin demurred when asked about it Friday, though he made his intentions very clear.
“All I’m going to say is, I want to be a Pirate for a long time,” he said. "This is a special place and I’m thankful to be here.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
Pittsburgh Pirates' Ryan O'Hearn, left, dumps a cooler of ice on teammate Konnor Griffin (6) while Griffin is being interviewed following a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin celebrates after hitting an RBI double, his first Major League career hit and run, during the second inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin (6) is introduced for his major league debut before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin sprints for home to score a run during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin hits an RBI double, his first Major League career hit and run, during the second inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin, right, follows manager Don Kelly, center, and owner Bob Nutting into a meeting with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin meets with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin meets with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
