LILLEHAMMER, Norway — In an exciting showdown, Kaysha Love from the United States and Bree Walker from Australia both clinched the gold medal in the women’s World Cup monobob race held on Saturday.
The athletes finished their two runs with identical times of 1 minute, 49.14 seconds, showcasing their exceptional skills on the track. Laura Nolte of Germany secured the bronze medal with a time of 1:49.21.
With this achievement, Love has now accumulated a total of seven medals in monobob competitions, including three gold, three silver, and one bronze, across 15 World Cup races since last season commenced. Notably, she has medaled in her last four monobob races, establishing the longest ongoing streak in the World Cup circuit.
Currently, Lisa Buckwitz of Germany leads the World Cup standings but finished in fifth place on this occasion. Buckwitz holds a 66-point advantage over both Walker and Nolte, as the season heads towards its final race. If Buckwitz finishes eighth or higher in the concluding event scheduled for February 15 in Lillehammer, she will secure her second consecutive overall title in monobob.
In the men’s two-man race that took place later on Saturday, Francesco Friedrich from Germany once again emerged victorious, bringing him closer to potentially claiming his seventh World Cup overall two-man title. Friedrich teamed up with Alexander Schuller for this win, while fellow Germans Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer took second place, and Britain’s Brad Hall and Taylor Lawrence finished third. The U.S. duo of Frank del Duca and Manteo Mitchell ended the race in sixth place.
As they head into the final round of the competition, the battle for the World Cup points title will be between Friedrich and Lochner. Currently, Friedrich enjoys a 30-point cushion going into the February 15 finale in Lillehammer, and he could secure the title with a finish of third place or better. Conversely, Lochner would need to win and hope that Friedrich finishes no higher than fourth to clinch the title.
Such a scenario appears challenging, as Friedrich has consistently medaled in each of his 19 World Cup two-man races and 57 of his last 59 events. In the mixed skeleton race conducted on Saturday, Britain’s Amelia Coleman and Marcus Wyatt achieved victory, with Janine Flock and Samuel Maier from Austria taking second place. The third spot was claimed by the U.S. duo Mystique Ro and Austin Florian.
Looking ahead, the bobsled events will continue on Sunday with the two-woman and four-man races taking place in Lillehammer. Meanwhile, the skeleton world championships for both men and women are set for March 6-7, 2024, in Lake Placid, New York. Additionally, the luge World Cup men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and men’s singles will occur on February 15 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
