From Winterberg, GER
(February 24, 2024) – Germany’s Lisa Buckwitz has been the class of the women’s monobob field all season long, racking up four golds and six medals overall in seven races. And in Winterberg she’s once again out front after two heats.
That said, Buckwitz is not running away easily from the field.
Buckwitz broke the track record previously held by Elana Meyers Tyalor (58.88) in the first heat with an impressive 58.51 downtime with her first run and held that lead throughout the first heat. Behind her, Canada’s Cynthia Appiah broke the start record, also previously held by Meyers Taylor (5.78) with a 5.76 on her way to second place after the first run.
Behind them, Australia’s Bree Walker and reigning champion Laura Nolte sat third and fourth, with Meyers Taylor back in fifth.
Meyers Taylor, though, had a bumpy start to her first run as she skidded into Curve 0, and while the rest of her first run was clean, it clearly cost her time. Her second effort was cleaner at the top, and the reminder of the run was just as clean as the first as she took the lead from teammate Kaysha Love.
From there, Meyers Taylor watched on as Nolte and Walker both fell in behind her, .02 and .09 back respectively.
Buckwitz, though, showed the two-heat form that she’d had all season. While she gave back .04, Buckwitz held onto her lead, taking a .09 advantage over Meyers Taylor to the third run on Sunday.
Meyers Taylor, Walker, Nolte, and Love round out the top five, with Romania’s Andreea Grecu in sixth.
Appiah’s second run looked to be clean, but the speed was not there as she fell to seventh, .32 out of the lead.
The United States’ Sylvia Hoffman rounded out the American effort in eighth in her first start in Winterberg in a single-seater.
Melissa Lotholz made her return to world championship competition and finished the second heat in 13th place, while teammate Bianca Ribi is four spots back in 17th.
Great Britain’s Adele Nicoll is tenth overnight, while Sarah Blizzard sits 25th for Australia.
Standings After Two Runs:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Lisa Buckwitz | GER | 1 | 5.81 | 5.77 | 58.51 | 58.73 | 1:57.24 |
| 2 | Elana Meyers Taylor | USA | 6 | 5.78 | 5.79 | 58.64 | 58.69 | 1:57.33 |
| 3 | Breeana Walker | AUS | 4 | 5.84 | 5.88 | 58.57 | 58.78 | 1:57.35 |
| 4 | Laura Nolte | GER | 2 | 5.89 | 5.95 | 58.59 | 58.83 | 1:57.42 |
| 5 | Kaysha Love | USA | 3 | 5.80 | 5.77 | 58.71 | 58.78 | 1:57.49 |
| 6 | Andreea Grecu | ROU | 5 | 5.82 | 5.84 | 58.78 | 58.72 | 1:57.50 |
| 7 | Cynthia Appiah | CAN | 9 | 5.76 | 5.81 | 58.56 | 59.00 | 1:57.56 |
| 8 | Sylvia Hoffman | USA | 19 | 5.77 | 5.82 | 58.89 | 58.87 | 1:57.76 |
| 9 | Margot Boch | FRA | 18 | 6.02 | 58.92 | 58.89 | 1:57.81 | |
| 10 | Adele Nicoll | GBR | 12 | 5.95 | 5.95 | 58.89 | 58.96 | 1:57.85 |
| 11 | Melanie Hasler | SUI | 7 | 5.87 | 5.89 | 58.88 | 58.98 | 1:57.86 |
| 12 | Kim Kalicki | GER | 26 | 6.01 | 5.97 | 59.06 | 58.85 | 1:57.91 |
| 13 | Melissa Lotholz | CAN | 17 | 5.92 | 5.98 | 59.06 | 59.02 | 1:58.08 |
| 14 | Debora Annen | SUI | 15 | 6.01 | 6.01 | 59.08 | 59.02 | 1:58.10 |
| 15 | Qing Ying | CHN | 8 | 5.99 | 6.00 | 59.15 | 58.96 | 1:58.11 |
| 16 | Katrin Beierl | AUT | 11 | 6.02 | 6.02 | 59.15 | 59.03 | 1:58.18 |
| 17 | Bianca Ribi | CAN | 10 | 6.10 | 6.07 | 59.29 | 59.01 | 1:58.30 |
| 18 | Kelly van Petegem | BEL | 16 | 5.98 | 6.03 | 59.33 | 59.17 | 1:58.50 |
| 19 | Linda Weiszewski | POL | 14 | 6.03 | 6.00 | 59.51 | 59.18 | 1:58.69 |
| 20 | Simidele Adeagbo | NGR | 25 | 5.96 | 5.99 | 59.52 | 59.27 | 1:58.79 |
| 21 | Viktoria Cernanska | SVK | 13 | 6.19 | 6.16 | 59.60 | 59.24 | 1:58.84 |
| 22 | Patricia Tajcnarova | CZE | 20 | 6.01 | 6.08 | 59.51 | 59.68 | 1:59.19 |
| 23 | Lea Haslwanter | AUT | 24 | 6.11 | 6.15 | 59.68 | 59.63 | 1:59.31 |
| 24 | Loren Djolo | NED | 23 | 6.03 | 6.00 | 59.69 | 59.66 | 1:59.35 |
| 25 | Sarah Blizzard | AUS | 21 | 6.10 | 6.18 | 59.49 | 59.89 | 1:59.38 |
| 26 | Georgeta Popescu | ROU | 22 | 6.26 | 6.24 | 59.88 | 59.95 | 1:59.83 |
