From Winterberg, GER
(December 5, 2025) – Jonas Müller and Lisa Schulte slid to gold in the opening Mixed Singles race of the 2025/2026 FIL World Cup calendar as part of an Austrian one-three finish.
The duo went off 13th and picked off the Latvian team of Gints Berzins and Kendija Aparjode, who had taken the lead on the strength of an outstanding effort by Aparjode.
From there it seemed nobody could get close to the Austrians, with only teammates Wolfgang Kindl and Hannah Prock able to get near .5 of the duo.
The final pair of sleds off the top on Friday belonged to German champions Felix Loch and Julia Taubitz. As expected, the Germans made it close. Loch matched Müller curve for curve during his run and hit the paddle just .074 behind his Austrian rival. Like Loch, Taubitz kept it close throughout her run, but fell just short as she crossed the finish line in second, .123 behind Schulte to take silver to start the season.
Kindl and Prock took bronze, with the German team of Max Langenhan and Merle Fräbel fourth. Kristers Aparjods and Elina Bota were fifth with Berzins and Aparjode sixth.
With temperatures a little warm in the evening, the track threw even the top teams for a loop.
“The track was really skiddy today,” Müller said after the race. “I managed to stay online most of the time. We’ve got a fast setup for the races this weekend.”
Silver medalist Loch agreed.
“The conditions were a bit tricky,” he said. “It was a little bit slower, but it wasn’t much of a problem. The crew does a really good job with the track.”
The Canadian duo of Theo Downey and Embyr-Lee Susko was eighth, with Cole Zajanski and Trinity Ellis 13th. Great Britain made their debut in the discipline with a 16th place finish by Dylan Morse and Kaia Hatton.
Like in the doubles race earlier in the morning, the American squad was entirely missing, and the Italian top sliders also missing as the race weekend in Winterberg will pay no Olympic qualification points.
Results:
| Pos | Names | Nation | Bib | Men | Women/Total |
| 1 | Jonas Müller / Lisa Schulte | AUT-2 | 13 | 53.615 | 1:41.510 |
| 2 | Felix Loch / Julia Taubitz | GER-1 | 17 | 53.689 | 1:41.633 |
| 3 | Wolfgang Kindl / Hannah Prock | AUT-1 | 16 | 53.799 | 1:42.038 |
| 4 | Max Langenhan / Merle Fräbel | GER-2 | 15 | 53.996 | 1:42.129 |
| 5 | Kristers Aparjods / Elina Bota | LAT-1 | 14 | 53.949 | 1:42.192 |
| 6 | Gints Berzins / Kendija Aparjode | LAT-2 | 7 | 54.534 | 1:42.637 |
| 7 | Leon Haselrieder / Alexandra Oberstolz | ITA-1 | 12 | 54.298 | 1:42.756 |
| 8 | Theo Downey / Embyr-Lee Susko | CAN-2 | 2 | 54.602 | 1:42.962 |
| 9 | Lukas Pecci / Katharina Kofler | ITA-2 | 9 | 54.398 | 1:43.028 |
| 10 | Anton Dukach / Yulianna Tunytska | UKR-1 | 10 | 54.449 | 1:43.067 |
| 11 | Valentin Cretu / Ioana-Corina Buzatoiu | ROU | 8 | 54.295 | 1:43.282 |
| 12 | Svante Kohala / Tove Kohala | SWE | 11 | 54.997 | 1:43.487 |
| 13 | Cole Zajanski / Trinity Ellis | CAN-1 | 4 | 55.034 | 1:43.628 |
| 14 | Mateusz Sochowicz / Klaudia Domaradzka | POL | 5 | 54.997 | 1:44.014 |
| 15 | Andriy Mandziy / Olena Smaha | UKR-2 | 6 | 54.327 | 1:44.682 |
| 16 | Dylan Morse / Kaia Hatton | GBR | 1 | 55.221 | 1:44.723 |
| 17 | Walter Vikström / Emma Seer | FIN/EST | 3 | 56.359 | 1:47.201 |