Three German bobsleigh pilots apply for two medals at the World Cup. As expected, favorite Kaillie Humphries has the best gold chances.
Altenberg (dpa) - The German bobsleigh pilots Kim Kalicki, Stephanie Schneider and Mariama Jamanka are on a medal course at the Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships in Altenberg.
The German two-man bob trio is in second to fourth place on Friday after the first two runs overshadowed by falls, behind favorite Kaillie Humphries.
"I was annoyed after the first run, the second was better, but the upper part still didn't fit," said Olympic champion and reigning world champion Jamanka from BRC Thuringia with relief. After the second run, she finished fourth with a total time of 1: 53.44 minutes before the final races on Saturday (3.30 p.m. and 5.00 p.m. / ARD).
While Jamanka had a good second run, the newly chosen overall World Cup winner Schneider failed in the second race. "The start was great and everything went well until turn nine. After that it didn't work anymore," said the local hero, who finished third with 1: 53.34 minutes at half time.
Kalicki from Wiesbaden is surprisingly ahead of the two established colleagues. The 22-year-old junior world champion is 21 tenths behind the Canadian Humphries (1: 52.80) who started for the USA. "The track is in top condition, it couldn't be better," said Kalicki, but warns of the two final races: "Something can happen here in each run. You saw that today."
A total of four falls overshadowed the start of the World Cup. In addition to the two Italian drivers and the Romanian bob, the fourth German participant drove upside down in Laura Nolte after a crash in the second race. The 21-year-old athlete from RSC Winterberg survived the fall unscathed, according to national coach René Spies. The 46-year-old did not send them to the start on Saturday.
Bobsleigh World Championships Altenberg
Website of the bobsleigh and sledge association for Germany
