From Lake Placid, USA
(March 23, 2024) – Germany continued a strong showing at the season finale in Lake Placid with Kim Kalicki winning conclusively in the two-woman bobsled race.
Kalicki and brakewoman Leonie Fiebig slid to a sizable .41 second lead over teammates Lisa Buckwitz and Lauryn Siebert in the first heat. Behind Buckwitz, Great Britain’s Adele Nicol, Germany’s Laura Nolte and USA’s Elana Meyers Taylor all sat stacked behind to fight for medals in the second heat.
On that second run, Meyers Taylor and brakewoman Emily Renna fell behind Switzerland’s Melanie Hasler and Mara Morell to put the Swiss in the top five. Nolte and Claudia Schüßler were next and put themselves .15 ahead of the Swiss go guarantee Germany at least one medal.
Up next were the Brits. Nicoll and Kya Placide improved their start by two hundredths, and Nicoll put down a strong second effort to move to the lead, a spot she held after Buckwitz couldn’t match her first run effort.
The last sled off belonged to Kalicki. The German pilot about matched her first run effort, and had the two quickest runs of the competition on her way to a .81 second victory over Nicoll, with Nolte in third, .04 behind the Brit.
Buckwitz, Hasler, and Meyers Taylor rounded out the top six.
Kalicki’s win was her third on the season and seventh medal in eight events.
“Lake Placid is my favorite track,” Kalicki said after the win. “So I know I drive well here. But I didn’t expect to win by as much as I did!”
Nicoll’s silver medal was her second on the World Cup tour, but her first in the front seat.
“We came out here just to learn the track for next year, because I’ve never raced here,” Nicoll said of her time in Lake Placid. “But this is where I did my driving school, but I haven’t been back so to come back and medal in the World Cup is unbelievable. I couldn’t have done it without Kya, she got me going at the start and we work well as a team. I want it as much for her as I do for me!”
Nolte took bronze, enough to clinch the World Cup title ahead of Kalicki. Buckwitz finished the season in third.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Kalicki / Fiebig | GER | 6 | 5.54 | 5.53 | 56.51 | 56.88 | 1:53.39 |
| 2 | Nicoll / Placide | GBR | 1 | 5.63 | 5.61 | 56.98 | 57.22 | 1:54.20 |
| 3 | Nolte / Schüßler | GER | 12 | 5.63 | 5.66 | 57.00 | 57.24 | 1:54.24 |
| 4 | Buckwitz / Siebert | GER | 3 | 5.49 | 5.50 | 56.92 | 57.36 | 1:54.28 |
| 5 | Hasler / Morell | SUI | 8 | 5.57 | 5.56 | 57.09 | 57.30 | 1:54.39 |
| 6 | Meyers Taylor / Renna | USA | 7 | 5.59 | 5.58 | 57.02 | 57.51 | 1:54.53 |
| 7 | Love / Hill | USA | 10 | 5.53 | 5.50 | 57.16 | 57.46 | 1:54.62 |
| 8 | Walker / Reddingius | AUS | 9 | 5.59 | 5.61 | 57.28 | 57.61 | 1:54.89 |
| 9 | Beierl / Schenk | AUT | 13 | 5.69 | 5.68 | 57.36 | 57.68 | 1:55.04 |
| 10 | Appiah / Ramsay | CAN | 5 | 5.76 | 5.77 | 57.46 | 57.75 | 1:55.21 |
| 11 | Grecu / Vlad | ROU | 11 | 5.71 | 5.67 | 57.53 | 57.71 | 1:55.24 |
| 12 | Ribi / Haughey | CAN | 3 | 5.72 | 5.72 | 57.51 | 57.83 | 1:55.34 |
| 13 | Hoffman / Milani | USA | 15 | 5.57 | 5.58 | 57.78 | 57.79 | 1:55.57 |
| 14 | Tejcek / Jones | USA | 2 | 5.79 | 5.82 | 57.67 | 57.95 | 1:55.62 |
| 15 | Cernanska / Mokroasova | SVK | 14 | 5.81 | 5.83 | 58.96 | 59.26 | 1:58.22 |
