From La Plagne, FRA
(December 10, 2023) – Laura Nolte and Neele Schuten took gold in the opening round of the IBSF World Cup two-woman season.
The duo led a German one-two. After one run they led teammates Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig by .05, while the American team of Kaysha Love and Azaria sat in third, .06 out of the lead.
In the second heat Elana Meyers Taylor, with Emily Renna on her brakes, put down a run that was nearly a half of a second quicker than her first effort to take the lead. That lead would hold up after Love’s second run was quicker than her first but not to the extent of Meyers Taylor’s.
Kalicki, the reigning world champion, slid into the lead from there, a tenth ahead of Meyers Taylor with just Nolte to go.
Nolte’s second slide was the quickest of the race, and plenty enough to give her and Schuten gold in the first race of the season.
The margin of victory was just .12.
The gold for Nolte was her 12th, and second straight in La Plagne. For Kalicki, the silver was her 11th and also her second straight in La Plagne.
Meyers Taylor won bronze in her return to two-woman action after a season off to give birth to her second child. The medal was her 50th in World Cup action (19 gold, 18 silver, 13 bronze).
Love finished fourth a day after winning monobob gold in her first World Cup start. Switzerland’s Melanie Hasler moved up from sixth to fifth in her second run, while Lisa Buckwitz rounded out the top six.
Bianca Ribi finished 12th and Cynthia Appiah 13th for Canada.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Nolte / Schuten | GER | 12 | 6.53 | 6.47 | 61.29 | 60.95 | 2:02.24 |
| 2 | Kalicki / Fiebig | GER | 7 | 6.49 | 6.41 | 61.34 | 61.02 | 2:02.36 |
| 3 | Meyers Taylor / Renna | USA | 14 | 6.57 | 6.53 | 61.47 | 60.99 | 2:02.46 |
| 4 | Love / Hill | USA | 1 | 6.42 | 6.45 | 61.35 | 61.20 | 2:02.55 |
| 5 | Hasler / Morell | SUI | 4 | 6.50 | 6.46 | 61.55 | 61.18 | 2:02.73 |
| 6 | Buckwitz / Mark | GER | 5 | 6.47 | 6.45 | 61.47 | 61.43 | 2:02.90 |
| 7 | Walker / Reddingius | AUS | 3 | 6.53 | 6.48 | 61.84 | 61.38 | 2:03.22 |
| 8 | Boch / Senechal | FRA | 9 | 6.62 | 6.64 | 61.80 | 61.50 | 2:03.30 |
| 9 | Grecu / Vlad | ROU | 10 | 6.69 | 6.64 | 61.85 | 61.59 | 2:03.44 |
| 10 | Huai / Tan | CHN | 13 | 6.65 | 6.66 | 62.03 | 61.59 | 2:03.62 |
| 11 | Ying / Wang | CHN | 11 | 6.64 | 6.66 | 61.91 | 61.74 | 2:03.65 |
| 12 | Ribi / Haughey | CAN | 6 | 6.60 | 6.61 | 62.07 | 61.88 | 2:03.95 |
| 13 | Appiah / Walkeden | CAN | 8 | 6.51 | 6.54 | 62.28 | 61.90 | 2:04.18 |
| 14 | Weiszewski / Zandecka | POL | 15 | 6.78 | 6.75 | 62.29 | 61.97 | 2:04.26 |
| 15 | Andreutti / Vicenzino | ITA | 2 | 6.95 | 7.00 | 62.69 | 62.41 | 2:05.10 |
