From Oberhof, GER
(January 25, 2025) – Selina Egle and Lara Kipp once again slid to gold as they beat out Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal by a tenth of a second to take their sixth straight gold.
The Austrians took the lead in the first heat from Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina by nearly a half of a second. Their lead held throughout the remainder of the first heat, with Degenhardt and Rosenthal sliding to within .057 of the lead, and just .003 behind Italians Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer, who slid to second.
Eitberger and Matschina took the lead from the United States’ Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby in the second heat, but once again were picked off by Degenhardt and Rosenthal, guaranteeing Germany at least one team on the podium.
Vötter and Oberhofer were next. The two-time reigning overall women’s doubles champs were looking for their second straight medal after being shut out through the first five races. They pulled ahead of the Germans early on, but a couple of small mistakes dropped them behind both Degenhardt and Rosenthal, and Eitberger and Matschina to third with the Austrians still to go.
Degenhardt and Rosenthal needed a mistake by Egle and Kipp to pull gold away from the Austrians, but that mistake never came. Egle and Kipp once again out-slid the Germans, eventually winning by a tenth of a second over Degenhardt and Rosenthal, and nearly a half of a second ahead of Eitberger and Matschina.
The Austrians’ win was their third straight where Degenhardt and Rosenthal were second behind them, and fifth time this season.
For Degenhardt and Rosenthal, their silver medal was their sixth in seven races on the season. Eitberger and Matschina’s bronze was the first for the team.
Vötter and Oberhofer were fourth for the fourth time in seven races. Forgan and Kirkby were fifth, while Germans Elisa-Marie Storch and Pauline Patz were sixth.
The American team of Maya Chan and Sophia Gordon were eighth, up from ninth in the first heat.
With two races remaining in the World Cup season, Egle and Kipp lead Degenhardt and Rosenthal by 90 points. Forgan and Kirkby are third, ahead of Vötter and Oberhofer in fourth. Latvia’s Marta Robezniece and Kitija Bogdanova are fifth, five points behind the Italians.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Egle / Kipp | AUT | 10 | 7.715 | 7.771 | 42.060 | 42.075 | 1:24.135 |
| 2 | Degenhardt / Rosenthal | GER | 13 | 7.619 | 7.665 | 42.117 | 42.118 | 2:24.235 |
| 3 | Eitberger / Matschina | GER | 4 | 7.658 | 7.684 | 42.350 | 42.263 | 2:24.613 |
| 4 | Vötter / Oberhofer | ITA | 8 | 7.602 | 7.613 | 42.114 | 42.502 | 1:24.616 |
| 5 | Forgan / Kirkby | USA | 12 | 7.652 | 7.722 | 42.431 | 42.466 | 1:24.897 |
| 6 | Storch / Paltz | GER | 1 | 7.726 | 7.764 | 42.522 | 42.623 | 1:25.145 |
| 7 | Upite / Kaluma | LAT | 11 | 7.719 | 7.800 | 42.579 | 42.622 | 1;25.201 |
| 8 | Chan / Gordon | USA | 6 | 7.781 | 7.828 | 42.921 | 43.022 | 1:25.943 |
| 9 | Domowicz / Piwkowska | POL | 5 | 7.850 | 7.868 | 42.997 | 42.987 | 1:25.984 |
| 10 | Stetskiv / Mokh | UKR | 2 | 7.756 | 7.801 | 43.168 | 43.129 | 1:26.297 |
| 11 | Robezniece / Bogdanova | LAT | 9 | 7.739 | 7.773 | 44.289 | 42.567 | 1:26.856 |
| 12 | Stramaturaru / Manolescu | ROU | 3 | 7.815 | 7.865 | 43.260 | 43.823 | 1:27.083 |
| DNF | Falkensteiner / Huber | ITA | 7 | 7.829 | 7.780 | 42.726 | DNF |