From Sigulda, lAT
(December 14, 2024) – The bobsled racing in Sigulda always seems tight, and in the final monobob race before the holiday break it was once again about as tight as it could be going into the second heat in Latvia.
Race 1 winner Laura Nolte led Aussie Bree Walker and teammate Lisa Buckwitz after one run, with only .02 separating the three women. Buckwitz threw down a big second run to take the lead from teammate Kim Kalicki with a start that was only .02 off of her own start record set in the previous season.
Walker was next, and hung with Buckwitz early. But the bottom part of her run just wasn’t quite as clean as the German’s, and Walker finished her run on the podium, but behind Buckwitz.
The final sled off belonged to Nolte. Like the first heat, the two-time reigning world champion was behind at the start. This time though, Nolte’s run was just a bit bumpier than her teammate’s. That’s all Buckwitz needed to win her first gold medal of the monobob season, with Nolte in second and Walker in third.
“I’m happy with my victory today,” Buckwitz told IBSF TV after the race. “It’s my second win here in Sigulda. I’m happy, but not happy with my start time. I wanted the start record!”
It was tight all the way through the field after the first heat, where anyone could make a big move with a great second run. Germany’s Kim Kalicki made that move with the third quickest run of the second heat to move from eighth to fourth. Romania’s Andreea Grecu finished fifth, with the United States’ Kaysha Love rounding out the top six.
Just .09 separated fourth to sixth.
The United States placed two sliders in the top ten, with Elana Meyers Taylor moving up from tenth to eighth in the second heat. Kaillie Armbruster Humphries, in her second race back from a season off on maternity leave, finished 11th, with Sylvia Hoffman in 15th in her first race in Sigulda.
Melissa Lotholz finished tenth as the top Canadian in Sigulda. Cynthia Appiah finished 12th.
Aussie Sarah Blizzard finished 17th in her first ever start in Sigulda.
After two races in the women’s monobob World Cup, Lisa Buckwitz and Laura Nolte are tied for the lead. Bree Walker, Kim Kalicki, and Andreea Grecu are all tied for third, with Kaysha Love and Kaillie Armbuster Humphries in sixth and seventh.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Lisa Buckwitz | GER | 4 | 5.56 | 5.57 | 53.33 | 53.56 | 1:46.89 |
| 2 | Laura Nolte | GER | 7 | 5.70 | 5.67 | 53.31 | 53.67 | 1:46.98 |
| 3 | Breeana Walker | AUS | 8 | 5.66 | 5.69 | 53.32 | 53.83 | 1:47.15 |
| 4 | Kim Kalicki | GER | 11 | 5.77 | 5.74 | 53.58 | 53.75 | 1:47.33 |
| 5 | Andreea Grecu | ROU | 5 | 5.64 | 5.61 | 53.35 | 54.04 | 1:47.39 |
| 6 | Kaysha Love | USA | 6 | 5.66 | 5.67 | 53.48 | 53.94 | 1:47.42 |
| 7 | Melanie Hasler | SUI | 15 | 5.74 | 5.71 | 53.58 | 53.86 | 1:47.44 |
| 8 | Elana Meyers Taylor | USA | 18 | 5.74 | 5.76 | 53.59 | 54.03 | 1:47.62 |
| 9 | Margot Boch | FRA | 9 | 5.88 | 5.95 | 53.57 | 54.18 | 1:47.75 |
| 10 | Melissa Lotholz | CAN | 13 | 5.65 | 5.61 | 53.53 | 54.30 | 1:47.83 |
| 11 | Kaillie Armbruster Humphries | USA | 10 | 5.93 | 5.95 | 53.61 | 54.27 | 1:47.88 |
| 12 | Cynthia Appiah | CAN | 12 | 5.66 | 5.67 | 53.69 | 54.32 | 1:48.01 |
| 13 | Kelly van Petegem | BEL | 1 | 5.88 | 5.86 | 54.11 | 54.49 | 1:48.60 |
| 14 | Katrin Beierl | AUT | 14 | 5.80 | 5.80 | 54.34 | 54.41 | 1:48.75 |
| 15 | Sylvia Hoffman | USA | 2 | 5.67 | 5.66 | 54.19 | 54.86 | 1:49.05 |
| 16 | Viktoria Cernanska | SVK | 3 | 6.05 | 6.08 | 54.30 | 54.79 | 1:49.09 |
| 17 | Sarah Blizzard | AUS | 19 | 6.02 | 6.05 | 54.55 | 55.24 | 1:49.79 |
| 18 | Georgeta Popescu | ROU | 17 | 6.10 | 6.10 | 55.03 | 55.37 | 1:50.40 |
| DNS | Linda Weiszewski | POL | 16 | DNS |