From Igls, AUT
(November 20, 2021) – The United States kicked off the IBSF World Cup bobsled season in style, with a one-two finish in Igls.
The track in Austria gave everyone the tight racing that people have come to know there, with Germany’s Laura Nolte and the United States’ Elana Meyers Taylor tying for the lead after one heat with matching track record 55.25 runs. Kaillie Humphries finished the first heat only .02 back in third.
On the second run Humphries took the lead with only Meyers Taylor and Nolte to go. Meyers Taylor matched her first run’s time to move into the lead by .13 with just Nolte left to slide.
The young German couldn’t answer, however, with Nolte only setting the sixth quickest time to fall back to third. That gave the United States both gold and silver in the season opener.
Meyers Taylor’s gold was her first in monobob action, while Humphries’ silver was her third straight in the discipline.
Canada’s Cynthia Appiah set the fast start in both heats on her way to a fourth place finish, only .09 out of bronze. Teammate Melissa Lotholz jumped up from seventh to finish fifth, with Australian monobob specialist Breeana Walker in sixth.
It was a very, very strong showing for the North Americans. All but one sled was in the top six, and that other sled belonged to Canada’s Christine de Bruin, who finished seventh.
Dutch slider Karlien Sleper jumped up from 13th in the first heat to finish tenth, which was likely enough to make the Dutch qualification for the Olympic Games.
Great Britain’s Mica McNeill moved up from 19th to finish 18th, one spot ahead of Ashleigh Werner of Australia in 19th.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Elana Meyers Taylor | USA | 19 | 5.83 | 5.88 | 55.25 | 55.25 | 1:50.50 |
| 2 | Kaillie Humphries | USA | 13 | 5.95 | 5.94 | 55.27 | 55.36 | 1:50.63 |
| 3 | Laura Nolte | GER | 8 | 5.93 | 5.91 | 55.25 | 55.39 | 1:50.64 |
| 4 | Cynthia Appiah | CAN | 1 | 5.81 | 5.81 | 55.32 | 55.41 | 1:50.73 |
| 5 | Melissa Lotholz | CAN | 20 | 5.88 | 5.90 | 55.40 | 55.34 | 1:50.74 |
| 6 | Breeana Walker | AUS | 21 | 5.88 | 5.87 | 55.38 | 55.37 | 1:50.75 |
| 7 | Christine de Bruin | CAN | 6 | 6.00 | 5.99 | 55.36 | 55.50 | 1:50.86 |
| 8 | Melanie Hasler | SUI | 3 | 5.99 | 5.98 | 55.45 | 55.50 | 1:50.95 |
| 9 | Nadezhda Sergeeva | RUS | 7 | 5.91 | 5.89 | 55.60 | 55.37 | 1:50.97 |
| 10 | Karlien Sleper | NED | 27 | 6.00 | 5.98 | 55.74 | 55.61 | 1:51.35 |
| 11 | Mariama Jamanka | GER | 4 | 6.05 | 6.04 | 55.63 | 55.82 | 1:51.45 |
| 12 | Kim Kalicki | GER | 17 | 6.02 | 6.02 | 55.73 | 55.79 | 1:51.52 |
| 13 | Anastasiia Makarova | RUS | 2 | 6.08 | 6.05 | 55.68 | 55.86 | 1:51.54 |
| 14 | Katrin Beierl | AUT | 9 | 6.10 | 6.05 | 55.89 | 55.67 | 1:51.56 |
| 15 | Andreea Grecu | ROU | 12 | 5.97 | 5.97 | 55.91 | 55.66 | 1:51.57 |
| 16 | Lubov Chernykh | RUS | 14 | 6.02 | 5.99 | 55.84 | 55.89 | 1:51.73 |
| 17 | Margot Boch | FRA | 18 | 6.06 | 6.09 | 55.86 | 55.88 | 1:51.74 |
| 18 | Mica McNeill | GBR | 16 | 6.12 | 6.13 | 55.93 | 55.85 | 1:51.78 |
| 19 | Ashleigh Werner | AUS | 23 | 6.11 | 6.14 | 55.92 | 56.05 | 1:51.97 |
| 20 | Mingming Huai | CHN | 15 | 5.99 | 6.00 | 56.04 | 56.10 | 1:52.14 |
| 21 | Martina Fontanive | SUI | 11 | 6.14 | 56.06 | |||
| 22 | Giada Andreutti | ITA | 22 | 6.27 | 56.09 | |||
| 23 | An Vannieuwenhuyse | BEL | 10 | 6.16 | 56.12 | |||
| 24 | Qing Ying | CHN | 5 | 6.00 | 56.15 | |||
| 25 | Yooran Kim | KOR | 24 | 6.15 | 56.22 | |||
| 26 | Viktoria Cernanska | SVK | 28 | 6.17 | 56.41 | |||
| 27 | Simidele Adeagbo | NGR | 25 | 6.06 | 56.53 | |||
| 28 | Lidiia Hunko | UKR | 26 | 6.52 | 57.37 |
