From Winterberg, GER
(Jan. 26, 2019) – Natalie Geisenberger cruised to victory in Winterberg to win gold in the 2019 FIL World Championships.
Geisenberger was over .2 seconds faster in each heat on her way to a .425 victory over teammate Julia Taubitz to win her fourth women’s luge world championship this decade and the second gold of the weekend.
Taubitz finished with a silver medal and the U-23 World Championship. The silver is a career-best int he FIL World Championships while the U-23 gold is her second.
Emily Sweeney moved up from fourth to third to win her first World Championship medal less than a year after getting injured during a run in the 2018 Olympic Games. The medal for Sweeney was the second women’s luge World Championship medal in as many events (Hamlin won silver in Igls).
Tatyana Ivanova finished fourth, just ahead of American Summer Britcher in fifth. Britcher came into the second heat in third, but a sixth-fastest second run dropped her out of the medals.
Latvian Ulla Zirne rounded out the top six.
Kimberley McRae finished 14th as the top Canadian. Teammate Trinity Ellis finished 29th. Elsa Desmond and Danielle Scott finished 30th and 31st for Great Britain.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Natalie Geisenberger | GER | 3 | 5.003 | 5.020 | 57.142 | 56.726 | 1:53.868 |
| 2 | Julia Taubitz | GER | 5 | 5.043 | 5.117 | 57.348 | 56.945 | 1:54.293 |
| 3 | Emily Sweeney | USA | 16 | 5.076 | 5.090 | 57.467 | 56.914 | 1:54.381 |
| 4 | Tatyana Ivanova | RUS | 6 | 5.052 | 5.053 | 57.492 | 56.932 | 1:54.424 |
| 5 | Summer Britcher | USA | 1 | 5.056 | 5.060 | 57.408 | 57.029 | 1:54.437 |
| 6 | Ulla Zirne | LAT | 10 | 5.112 | 5.186 | 57.545 | 57.088 | 1:54.633 |
| 7 | Andrea Vötter | ITA | 11 | 5.044 | 5.044 | 57.551 | 57.101 | 1:54.652 |
| 8 | Ekaterina Baturina | RUS | 18 | 5.085 | 5.064 | 57.559 | 57.103 | 1:54.662 |
| 9 | Sandra Robatscher | ITA | 14 | 5.086 | 5.049 | 57.657 | 57.016 | 1:54.673 |
| 10 | Tatjana Hüfner | GER | 9 | 5.014 | 5.039 | 57.502 | 57.274 | 1:54.776 |
| 11 | Eliza Cauce | LAT | 4 | 5.058 | 5.088 | 57.713 | 57.124 | 1:54.837 |
| 12 | Dajana Eitberger | GER | 2 | 5.097 | 5.103 | 57.749 | 57.124 | 1:54.885 |
| 13 | Viktoriia Demchenko | RUS | 15 | 5.132 | 5.114 | 57.751 | 57.115 | 1:54.906 |
| 14 | Kimberley McRae | CAN | 17 | 5.076 | 5.069 | 57.671 | 57.418 | 1:55.069 |
| 15 | Ekaterina Katnikova | RUS | 12 | 5.100 | 5.122 | 57.781 | 57.503 | 1:55.284 |
| 16 | Raluca Stramaturaru | ROU | 13 | 5.135 | 5.131 | 57.910 | 57.395 | 1:55.305 |
| 17 | Hannah Prock | AUT | 19 | 5.204 | 5.183 | 57.978 | 57.438 | 1:55.416 |
| 18 | Natalie Maag | SUI | 22 | 5.085 | 5.074 | 58.157 | 57.410 | 1:55.567 |
| 19 | Birgit Platzer | AUT | 20 | 5.146 | 5.134 | 58.087 | 57.540 | 1:55.627 |
| 20 | Lisa Schulte | AUT | 21 | 5.131 | 5.185 | 57.891 | 59.038 | 1:56.929 |
| 21 | Olena Stetskiv | UKR | 23 | 5.130 | 58.333 | |||
| 22 | Katarina Simonakova | SVK | 26 | 5.159 | 58.352 | |||
| 23 | Aileen Frisch | KOR | 24 | 5.131 | 58.388 | |||
| 24 | Veronica Ravenna | ARG | 27 | 5.229 | 58.411 | |||
| 25 | Ewa Kuls-Kusyk | POL | 28 | 5.144 | 58.539 | |||
| 26 | Natalia Wojtusciszyn | POL | 30 | 5.245 | 58.572 | |||
| 27 | Klaudia Domaradzka | POL | 29 | 5.177 | 58.754 | |||
| 28 | Mihaela-Carmen Manolescu | ROU | 33 | 5.230 | 59.091 | |||
| 29 | Trinity Ellis | CAN | 25 | 5.345 | 59.325 | |||
| 30 | Elsa Desmond | GBR | 34 | 5.316 | 59.398 | |||
| 31 | Danielle Scott | GBR | 32 | 5.284 | 59.456 | |||
| 32 | Sin-Rong Lin | TPE | 37 | 5.285 | 59.481 | |||
| 33 | Daria Obratov | NED | 35 | 5.257 | 59.632 | |||
| 34 | Dania Obratov | NED | 36 | 5.417 | 60.523 | |||
| 35 | Madeleine Egle | AUT | 8 | 5.036 | 61.884 | |||
| DNF | Kendija Aparjode | LAT | 7 | 5.127 | DNF | |||
| DNF | Hyesun Jung | KOR | 31 | 5.208 | DNF |
