From Lake Placid, USA
(March 14, 2025) – Over the course of the 2024/2025 season, the two-woman podium was dominated by the German women, with Laura Nolte ahead of Kim Kalicki and Lisa Buckwitz. And after two of four runs in the 2025 IBSF World Championships two-woman race, it’s once again Germany on top with the field trying to catch up.
Nolte and brakewoman Deborah Levi were the first off in the first heat and set a downtime that only Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig could nearly match, with the latter team just .03 back after the heat. Lisa Buckwitz and Kira Lipperheide sat third, ahead of trio of American sleds led by Elana Meyers Taylor and Lolo Jones.
In the second heat, Kaysha Love and Jasmine Jones put down a quick run to take the lead from Kaillie Armbruster Humphries and Emily Renna, and then held it as Meyers and Jones fell back to what would eventually be sixth, only .14 behind Love.
The top three spots would not change. Buckwitz was out-driven by Kalicki by just .03 in the second heat to give Kalicki a .2 advantage over Buckwitz. Nolte was the last pilot off, and stretched her lead out to .23 with a quick and clean run of her own.
So after two runs, it’s Nolte up by .23 ahead of Kalicki, with Buckwitz .43 out of the lead. Love is .33 behind Buckwitz in fourth, with Armbruster Humphries fifth and Meyers Taylor sixth.
Melanie Hasler and Muswama Kambundji sit seventh, ahead of Austria’s Kati Beierl and Christania Williams in eighth with Melissa Lotholz and Leah Walkeden ninth and Andreea Grecu and Theodora Vlad tenth.
Canada’s Cynthia Appiah and Skylar Sieben slid to 11th, up from 12th in the first heat, while teammates Bianca Walker and Niamh Haughey moved up from 14th to 13th.
Racing resumes at 1:00 PM Saturday afternoon, with the fourth and final run at 2:30 PM, all times eastern.
Standings After Two Heats
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Nolte / Levi | GER | 1 | 5.38 | 5.40 | 56.43 | 56.34 | 1:52.77 |
| 2 | Kalicki / Fiebig | GER | 2 | 5.45 | 5.43 | 56.46 | 56.54 | 1:53.00 |
| 3 | Buckwitz / Lipperheide | GER | 3 | 5.38 | 5.37 | 56.63 | 56.57 | 1:53.20 |
| 4 | Love / J. Jones | USA | 9 | 5.39 | 5.44 | 56.82 | 56.71 | 1:53.53 |
| 5 | Armbruster Humphries / Renna | USA | 7 | 5.53 | 5.54 | 56.88 | 56.77 | 1:53.65 |
| 6 | Meyers Taylor / L. Jones | USA | 6 | 5.49 | 5.52 | 56.76 | 56.91 | 1:53.67 |
| 7 | Hasler / Kambundji | SUI | 4 | 5.55 | 5.57 | 56.96 | 57.04 | 1:54.00 |
| 8 | Beierl / Williams | AUT | 5 | 5.44 | 5.44 | 56.88 | 57.21 | 1:54.09 |
| 9 | Lotholz / Walkeden | CAN | 8 | 5.58 | 5.61 | 57.11 | 57.14 | 1:54.25 |
| 10 | Grecu / Vlad | ROU | 10 | 5.55 | 5.55 | 57.26 | 57.14 | 1:54.40 |
| 11 | Appiah / Sieben | CAN | 12 | 5.55 | 5.59 | 57.31 | 57.47 | 1:54.78 |
| 12 | Annen / Morell | SUI | 14 | 5.58 | 5.55 | 57.30 | 57.53 | 1:54.83 |
| 13 | Ribi / Haughey | CAN | 17 | 5.58 | 5.59 | 57.49 | 57.37 | 1:54.86 |
| 14 | Boch / Senechal | FRA | 11 | 5.63 | 5.63 | 57.37 | 57.61 | 1:54.98 |
| 15 | Walker / Reddingius | AUS | 15 | 5.58 | 5.62 | 57.49 | 57.57 | 1:55.06 |
| 16 | Kim / Yeon | KOR | 18 | 5.78 | 5.80 | 57.62 | 57.70 | 1:55.32 |
| 17 | Nicoll / Nelson | GBR | 13 | 5.60 | 5.66 | 57.99 | 57.97 | 1:55.96 |
| 18 | Lin / Liang | TPE | 19 | 5.82 | 5.83 | 58.45 | 58.30 | 1:56.75 |
| 19 | Campeol / Wannakhot | THA | 20 | 5.98 | 5.97 | 59.95 | 59.83 | 1:59.78 |
| DSQ | Popescu / Sarbu | ROU | 16 | DSQ |