From Whistler, CAN
(Mar. 3, 2019) – Prior to the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Mariama Jamanka had never won a World Cup gold medal. She will leave Whistler now having won every senior level thing there is to win in the IBSF.
Jamanka entered the third run of the World Championships in the lead, just .13 ahead of Elana Meyers Taylor. On that third run Jamanka set the fastest time ever clocked in Whistler with a 52.01 downtime. The next sled down was Olympic silver medalist Elana Meyers Taylor. Meyers Taylor crashed out of 50/50, placing her out of the race and ending a streak of seven consecutive four-heat race podiums (Olympics and World Championships).
Meyers Taylor’s crash gave Jamanka over a second on the field going into the final heat. She cruised to victory from there, though came close to going over in 50/50, to win her first World Championship gold medal.
The World Championship gold completes the sweep of major championships for Jamanka. She’s won the Olympic gold, European Championships gold, the IBSF World Cup title and now the World Championship.
After Meyers Taylor’s crash, Stephanie Schneider had a very near miss, almost going over in the exact same spot. Her bumpy run opened up the door for Christine de Bruin, Kati Beierl, and Brittany Reinbolt.
Schneider was able to keep it composed in her fourth run to hang onto silver, while Christine de Bruin won bronze on her 30th birthday on the strength of the fastest run of the fourth heat.
Kati Beierl had two very quick runs in the third and fourth heats to move up into fourth place, while Brittany Reinbolt finished a World Champs career best-fifth. Russian Nadezhda Sergeeva finished sixth.
The United States’ Nicole Vogt threw down a flyer of a fourth run, moving her up from 12th to ninth with a third-quickest run of the fourth heat, while Meyers Taylor did not start the fourth heat.
Alysia Rissling couldn’t seem to get her rhythm on the 2010 Olympic track, finishing 11th. Teammate Kori Hol, making her first World Championships appearance, finished 14th.
Mica McNeill finished
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Run 1 | Run 2 | Run 3 | Run 4 | Total |
| 1 | Jamanka / Drazek | GER | 4 | 52.58 | 52.64 | 52.01 | 52.85 | 3:30.08 |
| 2 | Schneider / Strack | GER | 5 | 52.84 | 52.85 | 52.78 | 52.67 | 3:31.14 |
| 3 | de Bruin / Bujnowski | CAN | 15 | 52.91 | 53.12 | 52.57 | 52.65 | 3:31.25 |
| 4 | Beierl / Onasanya | AUT | 12 | 53.07 | 53.13 | 52.43 | 52.83 | 3:31.46 |
| 5 | Reinbolt / Gibbs | USA | 10 | 53.04 | 53.02 | 52.61 | 52.98 | 3:31.65 |
| 6 | Sergeeva / Belomestnykh | RUS | 7 | 53.11 | 53.31 | 52.94 | 52.75 | 3:32.11 |
| 7 | Köhler / Fiebig | GER | 8 | 53.03 | 53.26 | 52.81 | 53.31 | 3:32.41 |
| 8 | Vannieuwenhuyse / Aerts | BEL | 11 | 53.22 | 53.31 | 53.04 | 53.01 | 3:32.58 |
| 9 | Vogt / Brundgardt | USA | 17 | 53.23 | 53.38 | 53.53 | 52.73 | 3:32.87 |
| 10 | Huai / Wang | CHN | 1 | 53.05 | 53.48 | 53.12 | 53.60 | 3:33.25 |
| 11 | Rissling / Serwaah | CAN | 2 | 53.08 | 53.27 | 53.53 | 53.42 | 3:33.30 |
| 12 | McNeill / Douglas | GBR | 9 | 53.37 | 53.38 | 53.35 | 53.75 | 3:33.85 |
| 13 | Ying / Tan | CHN | 3 | 53.46 | 53.76 | 53.21 | 53.55 | 3:33.98 |
| 14 | Hol / Lotholz | CAN | 18 | 53.68 | 53.65 | 53.59 | 53.27 | 3:34.19 |
| DNS | Meyers Taylor / Kwaza | USA | 6 | 52.48 | 52.87 | 56.13 | DNS | |
| DNS | Chernykh / Shokshueva | RUS | 14 | 53.42 | 53.38 | 56.51 | DNS | |
| DNS | Fontanive / Stebel | SUI | 16 | 54.03 | 66.28 | DNS | ||
| DNS | Osipenko / Parfenova | RUS | 19 | 53.49 | 69.34 | DNS | ||
| DNS | Grecu / Vlad | ROU | 13 | 55.61 | DNS |
