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Winterberg (RWH): This weekend (13-15 January), athletes belonging to the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation IBSF will round off the first half of the BMW IBSF World Cup season on the bobsleigh track in Winterberg (GER). The season’s fourth race (out of eight in total) will also count as the 2017 IBSF European Championships.
World Cup points will be on offer to athletes from all countries – and play an important role for the overall standings and qualification for the 2017 BMW IBSF World Championships in Königssee (GER). For European athletes, the races in Winterberg will also count as European Championships using a format known as “race-in-race”. The title will be awarded to the top European athletes in the World Cup races.
In the women's skeleton event, local heroine Jacqueline Lölling is a firm favourite to win on her home track. Last week in Altenberg (GER), the 2012 Youth Olympic Champion celebrated her first World Cup victory and will start the race in Winterberg as the leader in the overall standings. Prior to her win, the overall runner-up in the 2016 World Cup had achieved six podium finishes out of ten World Cup starts. In 2015, Jacqueline Lölling was the surprise runner-up at the World Championships. Janine Flock of Austria will arrive in Winterberg as the defending European Champion.
The 2016 European Championships saw a first in the men’s skeleton event: In St Moritz (SUI), the title went to two athletes for the first time ever. The Latvian brothers Martins and Tomass Dukurs reached the finish line in St Moritz (SUI) in exactly the same amount of time to share the title between them. Last week in Altenberg, Martins Dukurs finished second to achieve his first podium finish this World Cup season. As the European Champion from 2010 to 2016, the Latvian is a favourite to take the title in Winterberg alongside local heroes from the German team: In Altenberg, Christopher Grotheer broke the track record to secure his first World Cup win while Axel Jungk finished third. Winterberg resident Alexander Gassner came in fourth for his best ever World Cup event and only just missed out on a place on the podium.
In the women’s bobsleigh, the German team has yet to secure a place on the World Cup podium this season. Mariama Jamanka achieved their best result when she finished tenth in Altenberg. She will be joined in Winterberg by pilot Christin Senkel, who made her World Cup début behind the steering ropes in Altenberg. Stephanie Schneider is planning to make Winterberg her first race of the season after undergoing a shoulder operation. Defending European Champion Anja Schneiderheinze is currently pregnant and officially announced her retirement from the sport before the start of the season.
In the two-man and four-man bobsleigh events, German pilots Francesco Friedrich, Johannes Lochner, Nico Walther and their crews are among the favourites for the races. The three pilots have started in two out of the three World Cup events so far, achieving five podium finishes.
It will be interesting to see whether Oskars Melbardis of Latvia will manage to win through in the battle for a European Championship medal. The World Champion in the four-man bobsleigh returned to the World Cup in Altenberg after undergoing back surgery and finished his first race weekend this season in thirteenth (two-man bobsleigh) and eleventh (four-man bobsleigh). In Altenberg, Oskars Kilbermanis stepped into the breach for his recovering team mate and namesake, finishing third in two-man bob for his first ever podium finish.
Teams from Russia, Austria and Switzerland are among the other teams hoping to win a medal at the IBSF European Championships. Alexander Kasjanov (RUS) has already finished on the podium three times this winter and is in second in the overall standings for both the two-man and four-man bobsleigh event. Benjamin Maier, who was the surprise runner-up in the four-man bobsleigh at the 2016 European Championships, finished in fourth in both the two and four-man events in Altenberg to only just miss out on the top three. The bobsleigh pilot Beat Hefti (SUI, two-man bobsleigh) will be in Winterberg to defend his title. The bobsleigh track in Germany’s Hochsauerland region has been a successful setting for the 2014 Olympic silver medallist. Hefti won the two-man bobsleigh event here at the 2013 and 2014 World Cups. His team mate Rico Peter has already enjoyed three podium finishes at the 2016/2017 BMW IBSF World Cup and is leading the overall standings in the four-man bobsleigh. ©RWH2017
New IBSF media guides: Information on events and athletes
Winterberg (RWH): The IBSF International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation has issued new media guides for the 2016/2017 BMW IBSF Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup and the 2017 IBSF European Championships.
Media guide - Event information for the entire BMW IBSF World Cup season: This guide outlines key information concerning bobsleigh and skeleton, the IBSF International Rules, the new IBSF draw system and all of the tracks.
Media guides - Athletes for both bobsleigh and skeleton for each round of the World Cup: This guide lists all bobsleigh pilots and skeleton athletes due to start at the BMW IBSF World Cup, including a profile with an overview of their results, the latest World Cup standings, and an interesting insight into their backgrounds. The Athletes media guides are updated prior to each World Cup and World Championship event.
All media guides and also the starting lists for the first heats of each race are available under the “Media Contacts” menu on the IBSF website or at http://www.ibsf.org/en/media-contacts. ©RWH2017
Keep up to date with IBSF news on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
Winterberg (RWH): As usual, all the latest news, start lists, race results, lots of photos and videos, and a wealth of information about the BMW IBSF Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup will be available on various social media platforms:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/IBSFsliding
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IBSFsliding
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/IBSFsliding
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bobskeletv
The official hashtag for the World Cup is #BMWworldcup.
A live ticker for all World Cup races, results lists showing all race times and overall times and the latest World Cup standings can be found on the IBSF website http://www.ibsf.org/de.
Over 40 countries around the world are showing TV coverage of the BMW IBSF World Cup races. You can find a list of our current TV partners at: http://www.ibsf.org/de/sender.
What’s more, NBC (in the USA), CBC (in Canada), www.ibsf.org and the IBSF YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/bobskeletv (available in almost all other countries) also broadcast all races as live streams, with commentary provided by Martin Haven and John Morgan on the IBSF channels. ©RWH2017
Winterberg timetable
On the sidelines
Tamara Seer (GER) is a new addition to the skeleton team for the German Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton Federation (BSD). The former track athlete switched to winter sports in 2014, starting out as a brakewoman for bobsleigh. With pilot Miriam Wagner, she won her first international race at the European Cup in La Plagne and Königssee in December 2014. The duo finished second in St Moritz. At her only World Cup appearance as a brakewoman, Tamara Seer finished ninth with Stefanie Szczurek at the 2014/2015 season finale in Sochi. Tamara Seer achieved even more success on the international race circuit when she switched to skeleton. At the opening event to the 2016/2017 season, she won her first two European Cup races in Innsbruck (AUT) and also achieved victory in Königssee (race two). Following the fifth of eight races, Tamara Seer is leading the overall standings in the European Cup. The former sprinter lays the foundations for her success over the first few metres: She has been the quickest starter by far in all of her races to date. “Breaking the starting record and satisfying runs were the key factors to my success today” wrote Tamara Seer on her Facebook page after her win in Königssee. ©RWH2017
Mark Lewis-Francis (GBR) made his World Cup début as a brakeman at the BMW IBSF World Cup season opener in Whistler (CAN). In the four-man bobsleigh event, he finished ninth with pilot Lamin Deen. A week later, the British team finished sixth in Lake Placid (USA). The 34-year-old sprinter comes to the sport from the field of track athletics. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, he won gold with team GB in the 4x100 metre relay. Mark Lewis-Francis also won gold in the relay at the 2006 European Championships and bronze at the 2005 and 2007 World Athletics Championships. ©RWH2017
The World Cup winners and medal winners in Winterberg in December 2015
| 1. |
2. |
3. |
||||
| Skeleton Women Skeleton Frauen |
HERMANN, Tina |
GER |
LÖLLING, Jacqueline |
GER |
CHANNELL, Jane |
CAN |
| Skeleton Men Skeleton Männer |
DUKURS, Martins |
LAT |
TRETYAKOV, Alexander JUNGK, Axel |
RUS GER |
- |
- |
| Women's Bob Zweierbob Frauen |
GREUBEL POSER, Jamie GARRETT, Cherrelle |
USA |
MEYERS TAYLOR, Elana JONES, Kehri |
USA |
HUMPHRIES, Kaillie LOTHOLZ, Melissa |
CAN |
| Two Man Bob Zweierbob Männer |
FRIEDRICH, Francesco MARGIS, Torsten |
GER |
MELBARDIS, Oskars DREISKENS, Daumants |
LAT |
WON, Yunjong SEO, Youngwoo |
KOR |
| Four Man Bob Viererbob |
FRIEDRICH, Francesco BÄCKER, Jannis PUTZE, Martin MARGIS, Thorsten |
GER |
ARNDT, Maximilian ROEDIGER, Alexander KUSKE, Kevin HEBER, Ben |
GER |
WALTHER, Nico HÜBENBECKER, Marko POSER, Christian WOBETO, Philipp |
GER |
The winners and medal winners at the 2016 IBSF European Championships in St Moritz
| Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
||||
| Skeleton Women Skeleton Frauen |
FLOCK, Janine |
AUT |
HERMANN, Tina |
GER |
GILARDONI, Marina |
SUI |
| Skeleton Men Skeleton Männer |
DUKURS, Martins DUKURS, Tomass |
LAT LAT |
- |
- |
TREGYBOV, Nikita |
RUS |
| Women's Bob Zweierbob Frauen |
SCHNEIDERHEINZE, Anja DRAZEK, Annika |
GER |
WILLEMSEN, Elfje VERCRUYSSEN, Sophie |
BEL |
SCHNEIDER, Stephanie BUCKWITZ, Lisa-Marie |
GER |
| Two Man Bob Zweierbob Männer |
HEFTI, Beat BAUMANN, Alex |
SUI |
WALTHER, Nico POSER, Christian |
GER |
ARNDT, Maximilian KUSKE, Kevin |
GER |
| Four Man Bob Viererbob |
ARNDT, Maximilian KORONA, Kevin PUTZE, Martin HEBER Ben |
GER |
MAIER, Benjamin RANGL, Marco SAMMER, Markus MOLDOVAN, Danut |
AUT |
MELBARDIS, Oskars DREISKENS, Daumants VILKASTE, Arvis STRENGA, Janis |
LAT |
BMW IBSF Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup 2016/2017: Overview and track information
The winners at the BMW IBSF World Cup 2016/2017
