Russia takes silver, host Austria bronze

Innsbruck (RWH) Defending World Champion Germany has again taken the gold medal in the team event at the BMW IBSF World Championships 2016 in Innsbruck (AUT). Axel Jungk (men‘s skeleton), Anja Schneiderheinze/Franziska Bertels (women’s bobsleigh), Tina Hermann (women’s skeleton) and Johannes Lochner/Tino Paasche (two-man bobsleigh) recorded the best overall time on the Olympic ice track in Innsbruck (AUT). The team from Russia comprising Alexander Tretyakov, Alexandra Rodionova/Yulia Shokshueva, Elena Nikitina and Alexander Kasjanov/Maxim Mokrousov collected silver (0.65 seconds behind), Russia’s second team medal and its best result to date in a World Championship team competition.
Host Austria won its first medal in the home World Championships with a team bronze when Matthias Guggenberger, Christina Hengster/Sanne Dekker, Janine Flock and Benjamin Maier/Danut Moldovan came third 1.46 seconds back.
For the first time in the BMW IBSF World Championships, the 14 teams included three international line-ups composed of athletes from a variety of nations. Canada and the USA were present with two mixed teams: Evan Neufeldt, Christine deBruin/Janine McCue (CAN), Katie Uhlaender and Justin Olsen/Evan Weinstock (USA), and Nathan Crumpton, Katie Eberling/Kristen Hurley (USA), Lanette Prediger and Nick Poloniato/Joshua Kirkpatrick (CAN). The third mixed team was a Romanian/German cooperation, with Germany providing the skeleton pilots Kilian von Schleinitz and Sophia Griebel, and Romania the bobsled pairings Maria Constantin/Erika Halay and Dorin Grigore/Florin Craicun. The three teams came tenth, eleventh and twelfth.
Complete results lists showing all race times and overall times can be found at ibfs.org, via Twitter (@IBSFsliding), on the official IBSF website, and on the IBSF Facebook group. ©RWH2015-2016