From Sochi, RUS
Feb. 15, 2020 – Ekaterina Katnikova won the first women’s luge World Championship for Russia, taking gold on home ice in Sochi.
Katnikova, who won the gold medal in the previous day’s women’s sprint, took a lead of .073 over teammate Viktoriia Demchenko into the second and final heat, with Latvia’s Eliza Cauce just behind in third.
Germany’s Julia Taubitz put down a track record run to enter the mix for a medal. Cauce made a big mistake at the start of her second run, skidding and hitting the wall out of the start curve to plummet down the order and put Taubitz in the medals.
Demchenko was next, and while the Russian’s run was otherwise clean and quick, it didn’t match the overall speed of Taubitz’s record run.
The final sled down was Katnikova, and while the Russian’s second time was slower than Taubitz, it was more than enough to win the World Championship.
The gold was the first women’s luge World Championship (non-sprint) for Russia.
Taubitz finished with a silver medal, less than a tenth of a second back, while Demchenko finished with bronze.
Kendija Aparjode was never really in contention for the medals, but finished a strong fourth, ahead of Tatyana Ivanova in fifth and Anna Berreiter in sixth.
American Summer Britcher moved up from eighth to seventh in the second run, while teammate Ashley Farquharson moved from 14th to 12th. Brittney Arndt’s second run was over two tenths quicker on her way to a 17th place finish.
Canada did not enter any sleds in the World Championships in Sochi.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Ekaterina Katnikova | RUS | 9 | 3.951 | 3.943 | 49.755 | 49.643 | 1:39.398 |
| 2 | Julia Taubitz | GER | 6 | 3.939 | 3.932 | 49.891 | 49.601 | 1:39.492 |
| 3 | Viktoriia Demchenko | RUS | 5 | 9.936 | 9.937 | 49.828 | 49.709 | 1:39.537 |
| 4 | Kendija Aparjode | LAT | 7 | 3.942 | 3.940 | 49.955 | 49.871 | 1:39.826 |
| 5 | Tatyana Ivanova | RUS | 2 | 3.913 | 3.919 | 50.172 | 49.665 | 1:39.837 |
| 6 | Anna Berreiter | GER | 4 | 3.930 | 3.920 | 49.920 | 49.958 | 1:39.878 |
| 7 | Summer Britcher | USA | 1 | 3.920 | 3.918 | 50.022 | 49.943 | 1:39.965 |
| 8 | Cheyene Rosenthal | GER | 14 | 3.946 | 3.945 | 50.079 | 49.966 | 1:40.045 |
| 9 | Ulla Zirne | LAT | 11 | 3.977 | 3.974 | 50.073 | 49.984 | 1:40.057 |
| 10 | Andrea Vötter | ITA | 10 | 3.940 | 3.928 | 50.008 | 50.053 | 1:40.061 |
| 11 | Madeleine Egle | AUT | 3 | 3.934 | 3.936 | 50.043 | 50.088 | 1:40.131 |
| 12 | Ashley Farquharson | USA | 16 | 3.950 | 3.943 | 50.202 | 49.934 | 1:40.136 |
| 13 | Natalie Maag | SUI | 12 | 3.953 | 3.958 | 50.170 | 50.188 | 1:40.358 |
| 14 | Eliza Cauce | LAT | 8 | 3.935 | 3.997 | 49.841 | 50.616 | 1:40.457 |
| 15 | Verena Hofer | ITA | 17 | 3.954 | 3.945 | 50.383 | 50.181 | 1:40.564 |
| 16 | Lisa Schulte | AUT | 15 | 3.947 | 3.940 | 50.370 | 50.195 | 1:40.565 |
| 17 | Brittney Arndt | USA | 18 | 3.977 | 3.956 | 50.412 | 50.184 | 1:40.596 |
| 18 | Marion Oberhofer | ITA | 19 | 3.975 | 3.970 | 50.436 | 50.222 | 1:40.658 |
| 19 | Nina Zöggeler | ITA | 21 | 3.978 | 3.970 | 50.730 | 50.688 | 1:41.418 |
| 20 | Raluca Stramaturaru | ROU | 22 | 3.968 | 3.954 | 50.641 | 50.943 | 1:41.584 |
| 21 | Aileen Frisch | KOR | 24 | 3.959 | 50.803 | |||
| 22 | Klaudia Domaradzka | POL | 20 | 3.953 | 50.843 | |||
| 23 | Michaela Marsikova | CZE | 27 | 3.995 | 51.220 | |||
| 24 | Hyesun Jung | KOR | 26 | 3.996 | 51.239 | |||
| 25 | Tatiana Salnikova | KAZ | 25 | 4.017 | 51.252 | |||
| 26 | Dania Obratov | NED | 29 | 4.066 | 52.595 | |||
| 27 | Daria Obratov | NED | 28 | 4.003 | 53.187 | |||
| DNF | Katarina Simonakova | SVK | 23 | 3.974 | DNF |
