From Igls, AUT
(November 30, 2025) – Even with the new configuration, Igls is a track that lends itself to tight racing throughout the field. And that was the case on Sunday in the two-woman World Cup race with one glaring exception: Laura Nolte slid to a yawning victory over the competition.
Nolte and brakewoman Deborah Levi had the quick start of the first heat, .02 off the start record, and slid to a .29 advantage over teammates Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig. That same .29 covered second through eighth place behind Kalicki, so the racing was tight elsewhere.
The second heat saw more of the same from Nolte. Her drive was the quickest ever on the newly configured Igls, a 53.73 was far more than Nolte needed, and plenty enough for the German to take her 22nd two-woman victory and fifth on the ice in Igls in her last six two-woman races.
The racing was tight for the remainder of the medals.
Going into the second heat, Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig had only a .01 advantage over teammates Lisa Buckwitz and Kira Lipperheide, with Kaysha Love and Sylvia Hoffman only .05 back in fourth.
Of the trio, Love and Hoffman were the first team off. They were quick off the top in the first heat and even quicker in the second. Their 5.41 start in the second run matched the quickest of the heat, and Love’s second drive was outstanding, just .02 off of Nolte’s first run track record. That was enough to take the lead from teammates Kaillie Armbruster Humphries and Jasmine Jones, who themselves had a strong second run.
Buckwitz and Lipperheide were next and fell behind early. Buckwitz was unable to make up the ground lost at the top and fell behind both Love and Armbruster Humprhies, guaranteeing a medal for the United States.
Like Buckwitz, Kalicki found herself behind Love early on as part of the massive start by the Americans. She was able to close the gap below the Kreisel but ran out of track, handing what would eventually be silver to Love while hanging onto bronze.
Love’s silver medal was her second straight in two-woman bobsled, while Kalicki’s bronze was her 35th medal in the two-woman sled.
Humphries picked up .05 off the top and put down a 53.88 second run that was just a tenth off the first heat’s quickest time and enough to leapfrog Buckwtiz and take fourth place, with Buckwitz fifth.
Elana Meyers Taylor and Azaria Hill improved their start in the second heat by .04, and Meyers Taylor was .52 quicker at the bottom, enough to move up from ninth into the top six. Her second downtime matched Armbruster Humphries as the third quickest of the heat.
Kristen Bujnowski and Dawn Richardson Wilson led the way for Canada with a 11th place finish in Richardson Wilson’s second race back since the 2022 Olympic games. Melissa Lotholz and Skyler Sieben slid to a tie for 14th with Poland’s Linda Weiszewski and Klaudia Adamek, while Cynthia Appiah and Kelsey Mitchell slid to a 16th place finish.
Austria’s Kati Beierl and Christiana Williams missed out on a top six by .05 as they finished seventh on their home track
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Nolte / Levi | GER | 9 | 5.40 | 5.41 | 53.78 | 53.73 | 1:47.51 |
| 2 | Love / Hoffman | USA | 8 | 5.44 | 5.41 | 54.12 | 53.80 | 1:47.92 |
| 3 | Kalicki / Fiebig | GER | 11 | 5.51 | 5.52 | 54.07 | 53.96 | 1:48.03 |
| 4 | Armbruster Humphries / Jones | USA | 4 | 5.53 | 5.48 | 54.19 | 53.88 | 1:48.07 |
| 5 | Buckwitz / Lipperheide | GER | 7 | 5.42 | 5.43 | 54.08 | 54.11 | 1:48.19 |
| 6 | Meyers Taylor / Hill | USA | 12 | 5.55 | 5.51 | 54.40 | 53.88 | 1:48.28 |
| 7 | Beierl / Williams | AUT | 6 | 5.49 | 5.49 | 54.24 | 54.09 | 1:48.33 |
| 8 | Blatty / Kora | SUI | 14 | 5.55 | 5.54 | 54.35 | 54.14 | 1:48.49 |
| 9 | Hasler / Kambundji | SUI | 13 | 5.50 | 5.50 | 54.49 | 54.24 | 1:48.73 |
| 10 | Boch / Goureau | FRA | 1 | 5.60 | 5.61 | 54.36 | 54.40 | 1:48.76 |
| 11 | Bujnowski / Richarson Wilson | CAN | 10 | 5.50 | 5.54 | 54.54 | 54.36 | 1:48.90 |
| 12 | Hui / Wang | CHN | 17 | 5.59 | 5.60 | 54.62 | 54.31 | 1:48.93 |
| 13 | Annen / Morell | SUI | 2 | 5.62 | 5.59 | 54.46 | 54.50 | 1:48.96 |
| 14 | Weiszewski / Adamek | POL | 21 | 5.48 | 5.50 | 54.68 | 54.33 | 1:49.01 |
| 15 | Lotholz / Sieben | CAN | 5 | 5.59 | 5.59 | 54.63 | 54.38 | 1:49.01 |
| 16 | Appiah / Mitchell | CAN | 15 | 5.55 | 5.55 | 54.72 | 54.33 | 1:49.05 |
| 17 | Haslwanter / Pichler | AUT | 22 | 5.62 | 5.61 | 54.72 | 54.35 | 1:49.07 |
| 18 | Walker / Reddingius | AUS | 19 | 5.63 | 5.64 | 54.94 | 54.39 | 1:49.33 |
| 19 | Nicoll / Placide | GBR | 18 | 5.66 | 5.66 | 54.83 | 54.57 | 1:49.40 |
| 20 | Ying / Wan | CHN | 16 | 5.68 | 5.68 | 54.98 | 54.49 | 1:49.47 |
| 21 | Popescu / Vlad | ROU | 20 | 5.76 | 55.04 | |||
| 22 | Voigt / Bonde | DEN | 3 | 5.73 | 55.10 |