From St. Moritz, SUI
(January 16, 2022) – The racing was close in the two-woman bobsled season finale in St. Moritz, at the end of the day it was a German sweep of the podium but an American atop the World Cup standings.
Kim Kalicki came into the second heat in a tie for third with teammate Laura Nolte, with Mariama Jamanka and Kaillie Humphries ahead of them. On the second run Nolte and brakewoman Deborah Levi went first of the four and slid into the lead, well ahead of Elana Meyers Taylor of the United States.
Kim Kalicki was next. She and brakewoman Lisa Buckwitz pushed .08 quicker off the top and edged out Nolte at the bottom by .07 to take the lead. Nolte held off charges by both Jamanka and Humphries to win gold, her first of the season and third of her career.
“We had good runs in training and were very consistent,” Kalicki told IBSF TV. “We’re really happy with how the race went!”
Jamanka and Kira Lipperheide finished second, while Nolte and Deborah Levi finished third to close out the German sweep.
USA’s Kaillie Humphries and Sylvia Hoffman, who held the lead after the first run, finished the race in fourth place, only .09 out of gold and .02 out of bronze.
Elana Meyers Taylor needed to finish no worse than two places behind Laura Nolte to win her second World Cup title. After the first run she sat seventh, while Nolte was in a tie for third. Meyers Taylor and Kaysha Love had the best push of the competition in the second heat and backed it up with what was for a moment the track record. It was enough to jump up to fifth, and that combined with Nolte’s third place finish was enough to give the American the overall title, her second.
The title wasn’t something that Meyers Taylor was even looking at going into the season.
“I’m just so tired, I need a break,” she said. “I’m excited to win the overall, it wasn’t something we were going for at all. To come away with it is pretty exciting!”
Canada had a solid day in St. Moritz. Christine de Bruin and Kristen Bujnowski finished the day in sixth, one spot ahead of Cynthia Appiah and Dawn Richardson Wilson. Melissa Lotholz and Sara Villani ronded out the Canadian effort in 12th.
Great Britain’s Mica McNeill and Adele Nicoll finished 11th in the lone British entry.
Elana Meyers Taylor took the overall title, ahead of Laura Nolte, Kim Kalicki, Christine de Bruin, and Kaillie Humphries.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Kalicki / Buckwitz | GER | 5 | 5.60 | 5.52 | 68.10 | 67.40 | 2:15.50 |
| 2 | Jamanka / Lipperheide | GER | 9 | 5.64 | 5.56 | 68.02 | 57.52 | 2:15.54 |
| 3 | Nolte / Levi | GER | 6 | 5.51 | 5.49 | 68.10 | 67.47 | 2:15.57 |
| 4 | Humphries / Hoffman | USA | 10 | 5.51 | 5.49 | 68.01 | 67.58 | 2:15.59 |
| 5 | Meyers Taylor / Love | USA | 4 | 5.52 | 5.42 | 68.39 | 67.75 | 2:16.14 |
| 6 | de Bruin / Bujnowski | CAN | 12 | 5.57 | 5.56 | 68.29 | 67.93 | 2:16.22 |
| 7 | Appiah / Richardson Wilson | CAN | 16 | 5.55 | 5.56 | 68.38 | 68.43 | 2:16.81 |
| 8 | Sergeeva / Belomestnykh | RUS | 11 | 5.57 | 5.55 | 68.43 | 68.43 | 2:16.86 |
| 9 | Chernykh / Egoshenko | RUS | 15 | 5.66 | 5.63 | 68.69 | 68.46 | 2:17.15 |
| 10 | Fontanive / Strebel | SUI | 14 | 5.65 | 4.64 | 68.53 | 68.64 | 2:17.17 |
| 11 | McNeill / Nicoll | GBR | 17 | 5.72 | 5.68 | 68.71 | 68.52 | 2:17.23 |
| 12 | Lotholz / Villani | CAN | 1 | 5.60 | 5.54 | 68.97 | 68.44 | 2:17.41 |
| 13 | Grecu / Wick | ROU | 2 | 5.77 | 5.69 | 69.05 | 68.51 | 2:17.56 |
| 14 | Makarova / Mamedova | RUS | 7 | 5.72 | 5.68 | 69.07 | 68.74 | 2:17.81 |
| 15 | Ying / Tan | CHN | 13 | 5.73 | 5.75 | 69.15 | 58.87 | 2:18.02 |
| 16 | Walker / Blizzard | AUS | 18 | 5.67 | 5.69 | 69.06 | 68.96 | 2:18.02 |
| 17 | Hasler / Pasternack | SUI | 3 | 5.61 | 5.60 | 69.38 | 68.87 | 2:18.25 |
| 18 | Huai / Wang | CHN | 8 | 5.71 | 5.73 | 69.52 | 59.19 | 2:18.71 |
| 19 | Andreutti / Scarpellini | ITA | 19 | 5.92 | 5.92 | 69.99 | 69.89 | 2:19.88 |
