From Lillehammer, NOR
(January 28, 2024) – Kim Kalicki and brakewoman Leonie Fiebig had a streak of 17 straight IBSF World Cup two-woman bobsled podiums snapped in St. Moritz. One race later a new streak begun, with the duo winning gold in Lillehammer.
Kalicki has raced with a leg injury for most of the season, and has been kept out of the last few monobob races, but showed a good deal of grit as she and Feibig had the second quickest push ever in Lillehammer on their way to a gold medal.
Kalicki led the United States’ Kaysha Love by .04 after the first heat, with German teammates Lisa Buckwitz and Laura Nolte behind in third and fourth, respectively.
In the second heat Nolte and brakewoman Neele Schuten picked up a hundredth on their start and put down what was the quickest run of the heat to that point to take the lead and hold it for two spots, as both Buckwitz and Love couldn’t match her drive.
Kalicki was the final pilot off the top and bettered Nolte’s second run time by .04 to win by .19 over her teammate.
The win for Kalicki was her first win of the season and sixth of her career in two-woman bobsled.
Love and Azaria Hill set the new start record in the second heat, .01 quicker than Buckwitz and Vanessa Mark’s time set in the first heat, on their way to a bronze medal. The bronze was Love’s first as a pilot in two-woman bobsled.
Buckwitz missed out of a medal by .14 with a fourth place finish, while Bree Walker and Kiara Reddingius finished fifth.
Elana Meyers Taylor and Emily Renna had a pair of strong pushes, and Meyers Taylor put down a pair of clean runs on their way to a sixth place finish,
Canada’s Cynthia Appiah scored a top ten with a ninth place finish a day after finishing with a top five in the monobob event. Teammate Bianca Ribi crashed out of Curve 13 in her first heat, but crossed the finish line and had a clean second run to finish 16th.
Great Britain’s Adele Nicoll finished 11th in her first two-woman World Cup race as a pilot, while Nikki McSweeney finished 14th in her third World Cup start in two-woman in the front seat. McSweeney was in her third different sled of the season, racing mostly rentals.
After four races in the two-woman bobsled program, Laura Nolte leads by 47 points over teammate Kim Kalicki. Lisa Buckwitz puts three Germans in the top there, just ten points behind Kalicki. Melanie Hasler and Kaysha Love round out the top five.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Kalicki / Fiebig | GER | 9 | 5.36 | 5.33 | 51.68 | 51.94 | 1:43.62 |
| 2 | Nolte / Schuten | GER | 4 | 5.35 | 5.34 | 51.83 | 51.98 | 1:43.81 |
| 3 | Love / Hill | USA | 6 | 5.35 | 5.32 | 51.72 | 52.13 | 1:43.85 |
| 4 | Buckwitz / Mark | GER | 7 | 5.33 | 5.34 | 51.82 | 52.17 | 1:43.99 |
| 5 | Walker / Reddingius | AUS | 13 | 5.41 | 5.43 | 51.99 | 52.15 | 1:44.14 |
| 6 | Meyers Taylor / Renna | USA | 12 | 5.41 | 5.42 | 52.02 | 52.34 | 1:44.36 |
| 7 | Hasler / Morell | SUI | 10 | 5.43 | 5.43 | 52.07 | 52.30 | 1:44.37 |
| 8 | Beierl / Schenk | AUT | 2 | 5.54 | 5.52 | 52.18 | 52.56 | 1:44.74 |
| 9 | Appiah / Walkeden | CAN | 14 | 5.46 | 5.41 | 52.25 | 52.50 | 1:44.75 |
| 10 | Ying / Wang | CHN | 8 | 5.55 | 5.60 | 52.23 | 52.59 | 1:44.82 |
| 11 | Nicoll / Placide | GBR | 15 | 5.46 | 5.50 | 52.44 | 52.54 | 1:44.98 |
| 12 | Boch / Senechal | FRA | 11 | 5.52 | 5.50 | 52.60 | 52.48 | 1:45.08 |
| 13 | Grecu / Vlad | ROU | 5 | 5.55 | 5.56 | 52.44 | 52.76 | 1:45.20 |
| 14 | McSweeney / Gibb | GBR | 16 | 5.58 | 5.59 | 52.66 | 52.82 | 1:45.48 |
| 15 | Weiszewski / Zandecka | POL | 1 | 5.57 | 5.53 | 52.60 | 52.94 | 1:45.54 |
| 16 | Ribi / Haughey | CAN | 3 | 5.45 | 5.45 | 53.76 | 52.50 | 1:46.26 |
