Defending women's champion Hallie Clarke of Brighton, Ont., is in third place after Thursday's opening two runs at the skeleton world championships in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Clarke posted a two-run time of 1:51.09, .22 seconds behind leader Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands.
Anna Fernstaedt of the Czech Republic was second at 1:51.06.
Calgary's Jane Channell was 13th at 1:51.70.
WATCH | Clarke sits 3rd after first 2 runs:
Defending world skeleton champion Hallie Clarke in 3rd place after 2 heats
Clarke became the youngest women's world champion in skeleton history last year when she won the title in Winterburg, Germany, as a 19-year-old.
The final two runs are scheduled for Friday. Watch live coverage on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem starting at 4 p.m. ET.
"I'm really proud of myself for being able to calm my nerves down because there's a different amount of pressure that comes with trying to defend a title versus just going into a world championships," said Clarke. who is aiming to become the first woman to win back-to-back skeleton championships.
"But I'm really happy with my second run. I made some corrections from my first and I'm really relying on that experience from last year to guide me through this."
WATCH | Clarke becomes youngest female world champion:
Canadian teen Hallie Clarke becomes youngest female world champion in skeleton
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