From Winterberg, GER
(Dec. 15, 2018) – Stephanie Schneider edged German teammate Mariama Jamanka to win gold in Winterberg.
Jamanka came into the second heat of the women’s bobsled race with a .08 second lead over Schneider and .17 ahead of the United States’ Elana Meyers Taylor. On the second run, Meyers Taylor put pressure on the field with the race-fastest run, a 56.69. Schneider’s run wasn’t as quick as Meyer Taylor’s, but it was enough to hold her position. Jamanka struggled on her final run, making enough small mistakes to give away the lead and the gold medal to her teammate.
Schneider would walk away from Winterberg with the gold medal, with Jamanka finishing just .01 ahead of Meyers Taylor for silver, while Meyers Taylor took bronze.
Meyers Taylor was the only pilot in the way of a German sweep of the podium, as Anna Köhler finished just outside of the medals in fourth. Nadezhda Sergeeva of Russia finished fifth, ahead of Kati Beierl of Austria in sixth.
Mica McNeill just missed a top six finish by .05, finishing in seventh, while Brittany Reinbolt finished 11th in the second American sled.
As has happened in luge over the last few weeks, there was a retirement celebration in the race, though this time the times counted. Elfje Willemsen paired up with her 2014 Olympic Games brakewoman Hanna Marien to make two finals trips down the Winterberg track that the Belgians call home. Willemsen has moved on to coaching, while Marien hadn’t pushed a sled in a race since those Olympic games. They finished 12th, but were all smiles at the finish.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Schneider / Strack | GER | 3 | 5.60 | 5.55 | 56.87 | 56.70 | 1:53.57 |
| 2 | Jamanka / Drazek | GER | 6 | 5.55 | 5.52 | 56.79 | 56.85 | 1:53.64 |
| 3 | Meyers Taylor / Kwaza | USA | 10 | 5.57 | 5.53 | 56.96 | 56.69 | 1:53.65 |
| 4 | Köhler / Fiebig | GER | 5 | 5.63 | 5.62 | 57.20 | 57.17 | 1:54.37 |
| 5 | Sergeeva / Belomestnykh | RUS | 2 | 5.62 | 5.62 | 57.25 | 57.24 | 1:54.49 |
| 6 | Beierl / Onasanya | AUT | 8 | 5.66 | 5.67 | 57.30 | 57.26 | 1:54.56 |
| 7 | McNeill / Douglas | GBR | 4 | 5.78 | 5.78 | 57.34 | 57.27 | 1:54.61 |
| 8 | Vannieuwenhuyse / Aerts | BEL | 1 | 5.81 | 5.78 | 57.46 | 57.43 | 1:54.89 |
| 9 | Chernykh / Shokshueva | RUS | 7 | 5.70 | 5.69 | 57.56 | 57.36 | 1:54.92 |
| 10 | Fontanive/ Strebel | SUI | 12 | 5.68 | 5.69 | 57.63 | 57.35 | 1:54.98 |
| 11 | Reinbolt / Gibbs | USA | 9 | 5.71 | 5.70 | 57.69 | 57.47 | 1:55.16 |
| 12 | Willemsen / Marien | BEL | 11 | 6.02 | 6.07 | 58.14 | 58.13 | 1:56.27 |