From Oberhof, GER
(January 17, 2026) – Merle Fräbel sert the two quickest times ever seen in Oberhof and won gold by a yawning .279 on Saturday.
Fräbel took advantage of wildly quick ice and slid to a track record 41.403 in the first heat, leaving Switzerland’s Natalie Maag over a tenth back in second, with Austria’s Hannah Prock, Lisa Schulte and Dorothea Schwarz in third to fifth after one run.
The second heat once again saw Germany’s Anna Berreiter overcome a first run that was not up to her usual standards but then climb the ladder to eventually a fourth place finish. Lisa Schulte threw down a good slide to take the lead from Berreiter with the top three still to go.
After Hannah Prock made a few mistakes in her run and fell down the order, Natalie Maag put down what was an otherwise very good slide but just outdone by the Austrian by .002, enough for no worse than third with Fräbel to go.
But Fräbel was too tough. Her second slide wasn’t quite as good as her first, but was more than enough for gold, well ahead of either Schulte or Maag.
The win was the first of the season for Fräbel, while silver was the second medal of the year for Schulte. Maag’s bronze was her first medal of the season.
Berreiter finished fourth, with Schwarz fifth and Julia Taubitz sixth, up from ninth in the first heat.
Ashley Farquharson led the way for the United States in ninth place, up from 12th in the first heat. Summer Britcher finished 13th.
Caitlin Nash, Embyr-Lee Susko and Trinity Ellis were 15th to 17th for Canada, while Kaia Hatton was a season-best 25th for Great Britain. Teammate Emma Seer was 29th.
With three races to go in the 2025/2026 World Cup season, Lisa Schulte and Julia Taubitz are tied for the season point lead. Hannah Prock sits third, only six points out of the lead, while Summer Britcher and Merle Fräbel are fourth and fifth.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Merle Fräbel | GER | 9 | 7.575 | 7.588 | 41.403 | 41.464 | 1:22.867 |
| 2 | Lisa Schulte | AUT | 16 | 7.626 | 7.635 | 41.600 | 41.546 | 1:23.146 |
| 3 | Natalie Maag | SUI | 6 | 7.626 | 7.660 | 41.550 | 41.598 | 1:23.148 |
| 4 | Anna Berreiter | GER | 7 | 7.600 | 7.578 | 41.660 | 41.530 | 1:23.190 |
| 5 | Dorothea Schwarz | AUT | 8 | 7.644 | 7.637 | 41.607 | 41.623 | 1:23.230 |
| 6 | Julia Taubitz | GER | 15 | 7.643 | 7.642 | 41.740 | 41.535 | 1:23.275 |
| 7 | Elina Bota | LAT | 12 | 7.492 | 7.496 | 41.667 | 41.643 | 1:23.310 |
| 8 | Hannah Prock | AUT | 13 | 7.646 | 7.652 | 41.580 | 41.819 | 1:23.399 |
| 9 | Ashley Farquharson | USA | 14 | 7.645 | 7.634 | 41.828 | 41.630 | 1:23.458 |
| 10 | Melina Fischer | GER | 5 | 7.634 | 7.630 | 41.779 | 41.706 | 1:23.485 |
| 11 | Barbara Allmaier | AUT | 4 | 7.731 | 7.741 | 41.823 | 41.766 | 1:23.589 |
| 12 | Kendija Aparjode | LAT | 10 | 7.566 | 7.563 | 41.738 | 41.859 | 1:23.597 |
| 13 | Summer Britcher | USA | 17 | 7.635 | 7.662 | 41.832 | 41.979 | 1:23.811 |
| 14 | Daria Olesik | AIN | 1 | 7.618 | 7.645 | 41.957 | 41.866 | 1:23.823 |
| 15 | Caitlin Nash | CAN | 2 | 7.638 | 7.658 | 41.939 | 41.920 | 1:23.859 |
| 16 | Embyr-Lee Susko | CAN | 11 | 7.709 | 7.725 | 42.112 | 42.199 | 1:24.311 |
| 17 | Trinity Ellis | CAN | 20 | 7.654 | 7.708 | 42.125 | 42.226 | 1:24.351 |
| 18 | Hyesun Jung | KOR | 24 | 7.725 | 7.740 | 42.330 | 42.210 | 1:24.540 |
| 19 | Yulianna Tunytska | UKR | 18 | 7.621 | 7.622 | 42.334 | 42.245 | 1:24.579 |
| 20 | Tove Kohala | SWE | 3 | 7.757 | 42.375 | |||
| 21 | Ioana-Corina Buzatoiu | ROU | 22 | 7.650 | 42.383 | |||
| 22 | Klaudia Domaradzka | POL | 19 | 7.663 | 42.392 | |||
| 23 | Veronica Ravenna | ARG | 23 | 7.902 | 42.562 | |||
| 24 | Olena Smaha | UKR | 26 | 7.632 | 42.566 | |||
| 25 | Kaia Hatton | GBR | 25 | 7.759 | 42.746 | |||
| 26 | Elsa Desmond | IRL | 27 | 7.833 | 42.943 | |||
| 27 | Yubin Shin | KOR | 28 | 7.840 | 43.200 | |||
| 28 | Tehya Baylis | GBR | 30 | 8.017 | 43.728 | |||
| 29 | Emma Seer | EST | 29 | 7.796 | 43.956 | |||
| DNF | Zane Kaluma | LAT | 21 | 7.666 | 7.691 | 42.011 | DNF |