Aleksandr Tretiakov of Russia claimed his second successive men's skeleton victory in the IBSF World Cup event in Altenberg ©IBSF

Aleksandr Tretiakov of Russia claimed his second successive men's skeleton win of the season at the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup event in Altenberg. 

Tretiakov recorded a total time of 1min 55.09secs on the challenging track in Germany.

South Korea's Olympic champion Yun Sungbin came second with a total time of 1:55.66, while Tretiakov's compatriot Nikita Tregubov came third with 1:55.93.

This victory consolidates Tretiakov's lead in the men's skeleton overall rankings, with the Russian currently on 642 points.

He won the Olympic title at Sochi 2014 but was initially stripped of his gold medal due to his implication in the Russian doping crisis.

This decision was overturned following a successful appeal with 27 other Russians at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Tregubov is second in the World Cup standings on 617 and Sungbin is in third with 610 points. 

Russia's Elena Nikitina won the women's skeleton race in Altenburg with Jacqueline Loelling of Germany finishing second and Russia's Yulia Kanakina in third ©IBSF
Russia's Elena Nikitina won the women's skeleton race in Altenburg with Jacqueline Loelling of Germany finishing second and Russia's Yulia Kanakina in third ©IBSF

In the women's competition, Russia's Elena Nikitina, another athlete implicated in the Russian doping crisis, also secured her second win of the season, achieving a total time of 1:57.42.

Jacqueline Loelling of Germany finished in second place with 1:57.79 and Russian Yulia Kanakina was in third with 1:58.39, her first ever World Cup podium finish. 

Nikitina and Loelling are also sitting in the top two places in the overall rankings with 642 and 619 points respectively. 

The two-woman and two-man bobsleigh events will take place tomorrow.