Kim Meylemans Retires from Skeleton as World No.1
Kim Meylemans, the world No. 1 ranked skeleton athlete from Belgium, has announced her retirement from the sport at age 30, ending a historic career that transformed her nation into a competitive force in winter sliding sports. Meylemans made the announcement on Saturday via Instagram, describing the decision as “the perfect moment to say goodbye.”
“Some will think I’m crazy, but for me this is the perfect moment to say goodbye, with a full heart and my head held high,” Meylemans wrote, as reported by Sporza/VRT NWS. “The past 16 years have given me more than I ever thought possible.”
A Career of Firsts
Meylemans retires having achieved virtually everything possible in her sport, despite competing for a nation with no tradition in skeleton racing. She became the first Belgian skeleton athlete to compete at the Olympics (2018 in Pyeongchang), the first Belgian on a World Cup podium, the first Belgian European champion, the first Belgian World Championship medalist, and — most recently — the first Belgian to win the overall Skeleton World Cup.
Her 2025-2026 season was nothing short of historic. She won the overall World Cup title — the first Belgian ever to do so — claimed her second European Championship gold in St. Moritz, and ascended to the world No. 1 ranking. Along the way, she notched three World Cup victories in Sigulda, Latvia (twice) and St. Moritz, Switzerland.
According to Wikipedia, Meylemans also won silver at the 2024 World Championships in Winterberg, Germany — another first for Belgian skeleton. Her two European Championship titles (2024 in Sigulda and 2026 in St. Moritz) further cemented her status as the dominant figure in European women’s skeleton.
Overcoming Adversity
Meylemans’ path to the top was anything but smooth. Born in Amberg, Germany to Belgian parents who ran a dressage stable, she was initially scouted by a German sports coordinator at age 13. She had asthma triggered by horse hair, which prevented a riding career, and was an accomplished football player — even invited to trial at Bayern Munich, an offer she declined.
She began skeleton in 2009 and was selected to the German national team in 2013. But in 2014, she made the pivotal decision to switch national allegiances to Belgium — a choice that meant significantly less financial support and fewer resources. It was the harder path, but one she never regretted.
The BBC covered her difficult experience at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where she was placed in COVID-19 quarantine upon arrival despite returning three negative PCR tests, and later suffered a hamstring injury, finishing 18th. “I saw the Games as a fairy-tale world,” she said of her disappointing 2018 Olympic debut. “I had to pay for that.”
At the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Meylemans entered as a medal favorite but finished off the podium. She noted that rivals from Germany and Great Britain had technologically superior sleds due to larger budgets — a recurring theme in equipment-dependent sliding sports that she had highlighted throughout her career.
“Last season I also achieved my biggest personal goal: winning the overall World Cup and becoming number 1 in the world,” Meylemans said in her retirement statement. “It has been a special journey.”
A Pioneering Legacy
Meylemans’ impact on Belgian sports extends far beyond her medal count. She single-handedly put Belgian skeleton on the world map, proving that athletes from small nations can compete with traditional powerhouses like Germany and Great Britain. Her career spanned 16 years, beginning when she was scouted by a German sports coordinator at age 13.
Before skeleton, Meylemans was an accomplished football player who was even invited to trial at Bayern Munich — an offer she declined due to the distance and lack of girls’ boarding facilities. Her mother once described her as a “doorzettertje” — a little perseverer — a quality that defined her career.
Off the track, Meylemans is married to Brazilian skeleton racer Nicole Silveira, whom she wed in 2025. The couple, who competed together at the 2026 Olympics, are one of the few openly same-sex married couples in winter Olympic sports.
What’s Next?
Meylemans has not announced her post-retirement plans. Her wife, Nicole Silveira, continues to compete for Brazil, and it remains to be seen whether Meylemans will remain involved in skeleton in a coaching or administrative capacity.
Her departure leaves a significant gap in Belgian skeleton. Aline Pelckmans, the only other Belgian competitor on the World Cup circuit, finished 25th in events — a stark reminder of how much Meylemans single-handedly elevated her nation’s standing in the sport.
The broader conversation about resource inequality in sliding sports — highlighted by Meylemans’ comments about technologically superior German and British sleds at the 2026 Olympics — is likely to continue without one of its most prominent voices.
“It’s a very beautiful way to close this incredible chapter,” Meylemans wrote. “To everyone who followed my journey: thank you! It was the ride of my life.”
For Belgian sports fans, that ride will be remembered as the moment their nation became a force in a sport it had never before contested — and left at the very top.