From Igls, AUT
(January 19, 2025) – For the fourth time in five races this season, Germany swept the podium in two-woman bobsled, and for the second time this season that sweep was led by Laura Nolte.
It was close after one heat, with Nolte and Deborah Levi sliding to a mere .04 second advantage over Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig. Kalicki drove to a track record, only to have it last about ten minutes until Nolte took the record back.
In the second heat Kalicki once again drove to the lead, comfortably ahead of teammates Lisa Buckwitz and Neele Schuten, with just Nolte to go.
But Nolte’s form was nearly perfect. She and Levi matched their first heat start time, and Nolte’s splits were nearly identical on her second effort on her way to another track record and gold medal, .01 quicker than her first heat.
The gold was Nolte’s third on the season and 18th of her career. Of those 18, five had come in Igls.
Kalicki’s silver was her fifth medal in five World Cup two-woman races this season, while Buckwitz’s bronze was her fourth in five races.
For the second time in as many races, Elana Meyers Taylor slid to a fourth place finish behind the three Germans, this time with Jasmine Jones on her brakes. Kaysha Love, the only other pilot outside of the German trio to win a medal this year in two-woman, partnered with Emily Renna to tie for fifth with Melanie Hasler and Nadja Pasternack.
Sylvia Hoffman and Sadie McMullen slid to a seventh-place finish from tenth in the first heat, Hoffman’s career-best as a pilot and second straight top ten. One of the teams Hoffman picked off was teammates Kaillie Armbruster Humphries and Lolo Jones, who fell from a tie for eighth to tenth in the second heat.
Bianca Ribi was the top pilot for Canada on the day. She and Niamh Haughey slid to a 15th place finish, two spots ahead of Melissa Lotholz and Leah Walkeden in 17th. Cynthia Appiah and Skyler Sieben were 18th, up from 19th in the first heat.
Adele Nicoll and Kya Placide had a strong second effort and moved up from 17th in the first heat to finish 13th.
With three races to go in the 2024/2025 IBSF World Cup two-woman calendar, Laura Nolte leads Kim Kalicki by 50 points. Lisa Buckwitz is third, with Melanie Hasler, Kaillie Humphries, and Elana Meyers Taylor rounding out the top six.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Nolte / Levi | GER | 10 | 5.42 | 5.42 | 52.05 | 52.04 | 1:44.09 |
| 2 | Kalicki / Fiebig | GER | 5 | 5.44 | 5.46 | 52.09 | 52.15 | 1:44.24 |
| 3 | Buckwitz / Schuten | GER | 7 | 5.44 | 5.43 | 52.24 | 52.20 | 1:44.44 |
| 4 | Meyers Taylor / J. Jones | USA | 6 | 5.53 | 5.58 | 52.39 | 52.37 | 1:44.76 |
| 5 | Hasler / Pasternack | SUI | 13 | 5.53 | 5.51 | 52.56 | 52.47 | 1:45.03 |
| 6 | Love / Renna | USA | 9 | 5.53 | 5.53 | 52.54 | 52.49 | 1:45.03 |
| 7 | Hoffman / McMullen | USA | 19 | 5.56 | 5.58 | 52.59 | 52.51 | 1:45.10 |
| 8 | Weiszewski / Adamek | POL | 17 | 5.49 | 5.49 | 52.58 | 52.53 | 1:45.11 |
| 9 | Beierl / Williams | AUT | 8 | 5.49 | 5.49 | 52.49 | 52.62 | 1:45.11 |
| 10 | Armbrsuter Humphries / L. Jones | USA | 12 | 5.62 | 5.62 | 52.58 | 52.66 | 1:45.24 |
| 11 | Walker / Reddingius | AUS | 18 | 5.54 | 5.56 | 52.63 | 52.69 | 1:45.32 |
| 12 | Grecu / Vlad | ROU | 4 | 5.64 | 5.62 | 52.96 | 52.84 | 1:45.80 |
| 13 | Nicoll / Placide | GBR | 22 | 5.70 | 5.68 | 53.06 | 52.77 | 1:45.83 |
| 14 | Annen / Leuenberger | SUI | 21 | 5.71 | 5.71 | 52.90 | 52.98 | 1:45.88 |
| 15 | Ribi / Haughey | CAN | 23 | 5.63 | 5.64 | 52.91 | 53.02 | 1:45.93 |
| 16 | Boch / Solitude | FRA | 11 | 5.70 | 5.73 | 52.87 | 53.07 | 1:45.94 |
| 17 | Lotholz / Walkeden | CAN | 14 | 5.63 | 5.64 | 53.00 | 53.08 | 1:46.08 |
| 18 | Appiah / Sieben | CAN | 16 | 5.64 | 5.67 | 53.13 | 52.96 | 1:46.09 |
| 19 | Haslwanter / Indruchova | AUT | 26 | 5.68 | 5.71 | 53.12 | 53.13 | 1:46.25 |
| 20 | Cernanska / Mokrasova | SVK | 1 | 5.82 | 5.80 | 53.27 | 53.07 | 1:46.34 |
| 21 | Blizzard / Werner | AUS | 2 | 5.84 | 53.35 | |||
| 22 | van Petegem / de Haseleer | BEL | 15 | 5.81 | 53.35 | |||
| 23 | Ying / Lv | CHN | 3 | 5.84 | 53.36 | |||
| 24 | Andreutti / Favaretto | ITA | 25 | 5.92 | 53.61 | |||
| 25 | Popescu / Sarbu | ROU | 20 | 5.85 | 53.74 | |||
| 26 | Djolo / Cranen | NED | 24 | 5.68 | 53.76 | |||
| 27 | Cavalleri / Costella | ITA | 27 | 5.76 | 54.57 |