Finally, it's Flock! Austrian wins the Olympic women's skeleton gold, avenging some near-misses

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — This time, Janine Flock finished the job. And a gold medal finally sways from her neck.

Flock — the Austrian slider who came into these Milan Cortina Games winless in 16 all-time appearances at either the Olympics or the world championships — got, by far, the biggest win of her long and legendary career on Saturday night.

She’s the women’s skeleton Olympic champion, completing four runs in 3 minutes, 49.02 seconds and finishing off a wire-to-wire victory. The 36-year-old got her first Olympic medal in four attempts, holding off Germany's Susanne Kreher and Jacqueline Pfeifer for the win.

“I can’t believe it. It doesn’t feel real right now," Flock said. "It’s a dream to do this.”

Flock was handed an Austrian flag shortly after hopping off the sled. She hoisted the flag into the air, then clapped her hands as the emotion began finally pouring out.

It was a win about two decades in the making. Flock is 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.

And now, gold in the biggest race of all. Flock was fourth at the 2018 Olympics, ninth in 2014 and 10th in 2022. All that was forgotten on Saturday night.

Kreher was second in 3:49.32. And Pfeifer — the silver medalist at Pyeongchang in 2018 and now the second woman to win two Olympic skeleton medals, joining two-time gold medalist Lizzy Yarnold of Britain — was third in 3:49.46.

“It was really special," Kreher said of getting to experience the medal moment with Pfeifer. "We are teammates for so many years, and now to share the podium is so special. Such a unique experience.”

Kelly Curtis of the U.S., who lives in Italy as part of her duty with the U.S. Air Force, was 12th in 3:52.13. Mystique Ro was 15th for the Americans in 3:52.48.

Flock's lead entering Saturday's final two runs was a mere 0.04 seconds over Kreher. That meant Flock went first in the third heat, setting the tone for what was about to happen.

Kreher went next and was ahead of Flock's time for about half of her third run, before starting to bleed time. Kreher led by about two-tenths of a second at one point, then wasted all that and more — finishing the heat 0.21 seconds behind Flock.

That doesn't sound like much. It is in sliding.

The only time in Olympic history where someone wasted a lead with one run to go in the women's skeleton event was 2018 — when Flock led the field, only to throw down a clunker in the final run. She went from first to fourth that day in that final heat, not only missing gold but missing the medals entirely.

Her lead with one run to go in 2018: 0.02 seconds.

The lead on Saturday night with one heat left was more than 10 times bigger. That's one sizable cushion. Flock isn't a great starter, so all of her lead — and then some — going into the final run was given away at the top of the track. That wasn't a surprise.

But she is a great driver. This time, she was a great finisher, too.

She kept finding speed, regaining the top spot with just a few curves to go. The final margin was three-tenths of a second, simply because nobody in the field knew how to get down the track any better than Flock did.

“I couldn’t tell what my time was," Flock said. "I just knew I put down four really consistent runs and hoped that it was enough.”

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Germany's bronze medalist Jacqueline Pfeifer celebrates as she arrives at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

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 gold medalist Janine Flock celebrates as she arrives at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Austria's Janine Flock starts for a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Austria's gold medalist Janine Flock celebrates as she arrives at the finish during a women's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

MUNICH (AP) — Some 200,000 people demonstrated Saturday against Iran's government on the sidelines of a gathering of world leaders in Germany, police said, answering a call from Iran ’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi for cranked up international pressure on Tehran.

Banging drums and chanting for regime change, the giant and boisterous rally in Munich was part of what Pahlavi described as a “global day of action" to support Iranians in the wake of deadly nationwide protests. He also called for demonstrations in Los Angeles and Toronto. The police estimate of 200,000 protesters in Munich was reported by German news agency dpa and was higher than organizers had expected.

“Change, change, regime change” the huge crowd chanted, waving green-white-and-red flags with lion and sun emblems. Iran used that flag before its 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Pahlavi dynasty.

At a news conference, Pahlavi warned of more deaths in Iran if “democracies stand by and watch" following Iran’s deadly crackdown on protesters last month.

“We gather at an hour of profound peril to ask: Will the world stand with the people of Iran?” he asked.

He added that the survival of Iran's government “sends a clear signal to every bully: kill enough people and you stay in power.”

At the Munich rally, demonstrators sported “Make Iran Great Again" red caps, mimicking the MAGA caps worn by U.S. President Donald Trump 's supporters. Among those sporting the caps was U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who gave a speech to the crowd during which he held up a cap.

Many at the rally waved placards showing Pahlavi, some that called him a king. The son of Iran’s deposed shah has been in exile for nearly 50 years but is trying to position himself as a player in Iran’s future.

The crowd chanted “Pahlavi for Iran,” and “democracy for Iran" as drums and cymbals sounded.

“We have huge hopes and (are) looking forward that the regime is going to change hopefully,” said Daniyal Mohtashamian, a demonstrator who traveled from Zurich, in Switzerland, to speak for protesters inside Iran who faced repression.

“There is an internet blackout and their voices are not going outside of Iran,” he said.

About 500 protesters also rallied outside the presidential palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, with many holding up banners with slogans against Iran's government and in favor of Pahlavi.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says at least 7,005 people were killed in last month's protests, including 214 government forces. It has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists inside Iran to verify deaths.

Iran’s government offered its only death toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.

The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.

Iranian leaders are facing renewed pressure from Trump, who has threatened U.S. military action. Trump wants Iran to further scale back its nuclear program. He suggested Friday that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen."

Iran was also the focus of protests in Munich on Friday, the opening day of an annual security conference in the city gathering European leaders and global security figures. Supporters of the Iranian opposition group People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, demonstrated.

Associated Press journalists John Leicester in Paris and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.

Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi stand under a huge historic Iranian flag as they attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Reza Pahlavi, son of the former Iranian Shah, attends a press conference at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday Feb. 14, 2026. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Supporters of the Iranian opposition organisation People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran, PMOI, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, MEK, show posters of people, they said was killed during the protests in Iran, at a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, takes part at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Supporters of the Iranian opposition organisation People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran, PMOI, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, MEK, attend a protest during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)