From Oberhof, GER
(December 14, 2024) Hannes Orlamünder and Paul Gubitz slid to gold on their home ice in Oberhof, their first win in a two-heat race.
The duo was the 11th off the top in the first heat and took the lead from Austrian’s Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schöpf with a 41.655, a time that was nearly matched by teammates Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt. Austrian’s Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl found themselves in the hunt for medals behind the two German teams, wedged in between them and Gatt and Schöpf.
Int he second heat, Toni Eggert and Florian Müller slid to the lead from sixth place, spot the they held after Yanick Müller and Armin Frauscher had trouble in their second run.
Eggert and Müller’s time only lasted for one more team, as Gatt and Schöpf took over, guaranteeing Austria would score at least one medal in the opening race in Oberhof.
Steu and Kindl took the lead from their teammates to give themselves a definite medal, but were quickly picked off by Wendl and Arlt.
The last team off in the second heat were Orlamünder and Gubitz. They’d previously won gold in Oberhof, but in the Sprint World Cup event, and were looking for their first full two-heat gold. The duo were out-started by Wendl and Arlt, and came back to the Bavarian duo early, but once again threw down the quick run of the heat, eventually taking the win by .116 for their first two-heat gold.
Wendl and Arlt finished second, with Steu and Kindl third.
Gatt and Schöpf finished fourth, ahead of Eggert and Müller and Italians Ivan Nagler and Fabian Malleier.
Afterward, Paul Gubitz was straight to the point about how happy he and Hannes Orlamünder were.
“It’s our first real victory at home,” he told FIL TV. “It’s super amazing. That’s all there is to say!”
Americans Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa finished ninth, two spots ahead of teammates Zack Digregorio and Sean Hollander in 11th. Dana Kellogg and Frank Ike were not in Oberhof, as Kellogg continues to rehab a dislocate shoulder suffered in the previous week’s event.
Canada’s Devin Wardropeand Cole Zajanski finished 14th.
After three races on the 2024/2025 World Cup season, Eggert and Müller continue to lead, but just by nine points over Martins Bots and Roberts Plume in second. Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl are third, 30 points out of the lead, with Wendl and Arlt and Orlamünder and Gubitz fifth.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Orlamünder / Gubitz | GER | 11 | 7.349 | 7.329 | 41.655 | 41.620 | 1:23.275 |
| 2 | Wendl / Arlt | GER | 15 | 7.252 | 7.259 | 41.669 | 41.722 | 1:23.391 |
| 3 | Steu / Kindl | AUT | 13 | 7.397 | 7.380 | 41.730 | 41.753 | 1:23.483 |
| 4 | Gatt / Schöpf | AUT | 10 | 7.411 | 7.376 | 41.781 | 41.876 | 1:23.657 |
| 5 | Eggert / Müller | GER | 12 | 7.357 | 7.365 | 41.856 | 41.806 | 1:23.662 |
| 6 | Nagler / Malleier | ITA | 6 | 7.401 | 7.286 | 41.863 | 41.884 | 1:23.747 |
| 7 | Bots / Plume | LAT | 14 | 7.330 | 7.365 | 41.889 | 41.923 | 1:23.812 |
| 8 | Müller / Frauscher | AUT | 7 | 7.353 | 7.376 | 41.813 | 42.012 | 1:23.825 |
| 9 | Mueller / Haugsjaa | USA | 3 | 7.392 | 7.427 | 41.869 | 42.024 | 1:23.893 |
| 10 | Rieder / Kainzwaldner | ITA | 9 | 7.395 | 7.448 | 42.037 | 42.156 | 1:24.193 |
| 11 | Digregorio / Hollander | USA | 5 | 7.354 | 7.396 | 41.968 | 42.306 | 1:24.274 |
| 12 | Sevics-Mikelsevics / Krasts | LAT | 8 | 7.399 | 7.401 | 42.121 | 42.196 | 1:24.317 |
| 13 | Chmielewski / Kowalewski | POL | 1 | 7.417 | 7.426 | 42.105 | 42.213 | 1:24.318 |
| 14 | Wardrope / Zajanski | CAN | 2 | 7.455 | 7.458 | 42.302 | 42.463 | 1:24.765 |
| 15 | Vavercak / Zmij | SVK | 4 | 7.396 | 7.419 | 42.436 | 42.525 | 1:24.961 |
| 16 | Jubayi / Hou | CHN | 17 | 7.542 | 7.538 | 42.759 | 42.683 | 1:25.442 |
| 17 | Gitlan / Serban | ROU | 16 | 7.557 | 7.577 | 42.971 | 42.856 | 1:25.827 |
| 18 | Hoi / Kachmar | UKR | 18 | 7.657 | 7.666 | 43.047 | 43.186 | 1:26.233 |
| 19 | Handaric / Motzcz | ROU | 19 | 7.581 | 43.190 |