From Altenberg, GER
(January 6, 2024) – Belgium’s Kelly van Petegem won the first Europe Cup monobob gold medal of her career as she edged out Germany’s Maureen Zimmer for the top spot on the podium in Altenberg.
Van Petegem sat fourth after the first heat, .15 behind leader Zimmer, with Germany’s Charlotte Candrix and Swiss pilot Deobra Annen wedged in between.
In the second heat, van Petegem set the quick time of the contenders on a slowing track. Neither Annen nor Candrix could match van Petegem’s downtime, leaving only Zimmer to take a shot at the Belgium.
In the final run of the day, Zimmer set the quick start of the heat and opened up a sizable lead over van Petegem. Zimmer’s second run was quicker than van Petegem’s until the bottom of her run, where late trouble dropped her behind the Belgian to win silver, while van Petegem took gold.
The win for van Petegem was her second on the Europe Cup tour, having previously won in two-woman bobsled in Sigulda.
Zimmer took silver, while Slovakia’s Viktoria Cernanska took bronze, up from fifth in the first heat with a strong second run.
Candrix, Annen, and Nigeria’s Simidele Adeagbo rounded out the top six.
Australia’s Sarah Blizzard scored another top ten in tenth, while Italy’s Simona de Silvestro finished 12th.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Finish |
| 1 | Kelly van Petegem | BEL | 9 | 6.29 | 6.26 | 60.13 | 60.39 | 2:00.52 |
| 2 | Maureen Zimmer | GER | 6 | 6.02 | 6.08 | 59.98 | 60.56 | 2:00.54 |
| 3 | Viktoria Cernanska | SVK | 4 | 6.41 | 6.43 | 60.21 | 60.64 | 2:00.85 |
| 4 | Charlotte Candrix | GER | 5 | 6.35 | 6.33 | 60.01 | 60.88 | 2:00.89 |
| 5 | Debora Annen | SUI | 7 | 6.35 | 6.31 | 60.11 | 60.93 | 2:01.04 |
| 6 | Simidele Adeagbo | NGR | 2 | 6.25 | 6.31 | 60.58 | 60.66 | 2:01.24 |
| 7 | Giada Andreutti | ITA | 10 | 6.71 | 6.70 | 60.51 | 60.80 | 2:01.31 |
| 8 | Diana Filipszki | GER | 8 | 6.51 | 6.50 | 60.42 | 60.95 | 2:01.37 |
| 9 | Georgeta Popescu | ROU | 12 | 6.50 | 6.51 | 60.67 | 61.01 | 2:01.68 |
| 10 | Sarah Blizzard | AUS | 11 | 6.42 | 6.46 | 60.72 | 60.99 | 2:01.71 |
| 11 | Patricia Tajcnarova | CZE | 13 | 6.25 | 6.27 | 61.13 | 61.26 | 2:02.39 |
| 12 | Simona de Silvestro | ITA | 1 | 6.62 | 6.63 | 60.94 | 61.60 | 2:02.54 |
| 13 | Maja Voigt | DEN | 3 | 6.28 | 6.34 | 61.75 | 61.31 | 2:03.06 |
| 14 | Lea Haslwanter | AUT | 14 | 6.41 | 6.50 | 63.26 | 62.02 | 2:05.28 |
