From Whistler, CAN
(February 7, 2025) – Hannes Orlamünder and Paul Gubitz came into the 53rd FIL World Championships in Whistler with two career World Cup victories, and walked away on Saturday with their first World Championship title.
The duo took the lead from the fifth starting spot in the first heat with a run that was less than .04 from the track record. They then watched as team after team failed to match their time, with teammates Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt coming closest, .046 off of the pace.
Behind the two German teams, Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl looked to get their second medal of the weekend after a gold in the Mixed Doubles race, but had to hold off a quick Latvian team of Martins Bots and Roberts Plume to do so.
In the second heat, the Latvians put down a run that was nearly a full tenth quicker than their first, enough to take the lead from Germany’s Toni Eggert and Florian Müller, who had moved up from seventh into the top five. From there, Bots and Plume watched as both Steu and Kindl then Wendl and Arlt missed the mark that they set.
But Orlamünder and Gubitz had been good in training, had a great effort in the Mixed Doubles race, and an excellent first run in the race. Their second effort nearly mirrored their first, only .002 slower as they had the two quick runs of the competition on their way to their first ever World Championship gold, with Bots and Plume silver and Wendl and Arlt bronze.
Steu and Kindl were fourth, ahead of Eggert and Müller in fifth and Austria’s Yannick Müller and Armin Frauscher in sixth.
Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa entered the second heat in fifth place, but fell two spots in the second heat on their way to a seventh place finish. Teammates Zack Digregorio and Sean Hollander moved up from 11th in the first heat to finish tenth.
Canada’s Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajanski were 12th on their home ice.
After three races in the 53rd World Championships, the medal table looks like this:
1. Germany (2G, 1S, 2B)
2. Austria (1G, 1B)
T3. Latvia (1S)
T3. USA (1S)
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Orlamünder / Gubitz | GER | 5 | 3.281 | 3.291 | 38.268 | 38.270 | 1:16.538 |
| 2 | Bots / Plume | LAT | 14 | 3.277 | 3.283 | 38.357 | 38.283 | 1:16.640 |
| 3 | Wendl / Arlt | GER | 15 | 3.250 | 3.246 | 38.314 | 38.357 | 1:16.671 |
| 4 | Steu / Kindl | AUT | 13 | 3.302 | 3.298 | 38.348 | 38.346 | 1:16.694 |
| 5 | Eggert / Müller | GER | 10 | 3.270 | 3.280 | 38.466 | 38.355 | 1:16.821 |
| 6 | Müller / Frauscher | AUT | 12 | 3.296 | 3.297 | 38.448 | 38.400 | 1:16.848 |
| 7 | Mueller / Haugsjaa | USA | 4 | 3.278 | 3.287 | 38.392 | 38.464 | 1:16.856 |
| 8 | Nagler / Malleier | ITA | 9 | 3.261 | 3.261 | 38.547 | 38.369 | 1:16.916 |
| 9 | Gatt / Schöpf | AUT | 11 | 3.279 | 3.288 | 38.502 | 38.492 | 1:16.994 |
| 10 | Digregorio / Hollander | USA | 8 | 3.290 | 3.291 | 38.553 | 38.501 | 1:17.054 |
| 11 | Sevics-Mikelsevics / Krasts | LAT | 3 | 3.280 | 3.288 | 38.469 | 38.626 | 1:17.095 |
| 12 | Wardrope / Zajanski | CAN | 16 | 3.291 | 3.302 | 38.639 | 39.659 | 1:17.298 |
| 13 | Chmielewski / Kowalewski | POL | 7 | 3.296 | 3.288 | 38.680 | 38.632 | 1:17.312 |
| 14 | Rieder / Kainzwaldner | ITA | 6 | 3.312 | 3.304 | 38.820 | 38.679 | 1:17.499 |
| 15 | Vavercak / Zmij | SVK | 2 | 3.289 | 3.291 | 38.823 | 39.061 | 1:17.884 |
| 16 | Gitlan / Serban | ROU | 17 | 3.337 | 3.330 | 39.209 | 39.154 | 1:18.363 |
| 17 | Hoi / Kachmar | UKR | 1 | 3.360 | 3.377 | 39.757 | 39.183 | 1:18.940 |
| 18 | Handaric / Motzcz | ROU | 18 | 3.406 | 3.391 | 39.575 | 39.855 | 1:19.430 |