Illmann wins international debut race in 2-man Bobsleigh
Lillehammer (RWH) Bobsleigh Teams from three nations were victorious at the Europe Cup opening event of the International Bob & Skeleton Federation IBSF.
In Lillehammer (NOR) Andreea Grecu (ROU), Junior World Champion of 2018, won the 2-woman Bobsleigh event with push athletes Ioana Gheorghe ahead of Margot Boch / Carla Senechal from France. Junior European Champion Alena Osipenko (RUS) finished third with Yulia Egoshenko. For the first time ever, two women's teams from Poland competed in the Bobsleigh Europe Cup. Sylwia Smolarek / Julia Slupecka and Linda Weiszewski / Aleksandra Byczkowska finished eleventh and 13th, respectively.
In the 2-man Bob, a debutant provided a surprise: Maximilian Illmann from Germany competed in his first ever IBSF race. With push athlete Georg Fleischauer the 20-years-old won ahead of Olympic bronze medallist Oskars Melbardis (LAT) with Intars Dambis. Junior European Champions Mihai Tentea / Ciprian Daroczi (ROU) finished third.
In 4-man Bobsleigh, Rostislav Gaitiukevich's team (RUS) won the IBSF Europe Cup in Lillehammer. The French team with pilot Romain Heinrich finished second ahead of the 4-man team of Michael Kuonen (SUI). ©RWH2019
Photos: IBSF
