On International Women’s Day, the IBSF celebrates female athletes of new Olympic discipline
La Plagne (RWH) On this year‘s International Women’s Day on 8 March, the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation IBSF is happy to celebrate the ambassadors and role models of the new and coming Olympic discipline Women’s Monobob.
17 female athletes of eleven nations as well as IBSF development coach and former 2-woman bobsleigh pilot Elfje Willemsen (BEL) gathered this week in La Plagne (FRA) for the sixth and seventh Women’s Monobob race in the 2019/2020 winter season.
Among the participants were World Cup athletes in 2-woman Bobsleigh like 2016 Junior World Champion Mica McNeill (GBR) or European Championships silver medallist Andreea Grecu (ROU), both 2018 Olympians and push athletes like Teodora Vlad (ROU) or Kelly van Petegem (BEL). Also 17-years-old Viktoria Cernanska (SVK), monobob silver medallist at the Youth Olympic Winter Games Lausanne 2020, hit the start line in La Plagne.
Winner of both races in La Plagne was Breeana Walker from Australia. Karlien Sleper from the Netherlands (0.78 seconds back), also a two times winner this season in Park City, finished second in the first race ahead of Briton Mica McNeill (0.96 seconds back). In the second La Plagne race, Romanian Andreea Grecu (0.07 seconds back) finished second with Mica McNeill (0.95 seconds back) on third place again. Youth Olympic silver medallist Viktoria Cernanska finished sixth and seventh.
In the 2019/2020 winter so far, 43 female athletes from 24 nations competed in the Women’s Monobob race series. Highlight was the race in Königssee (GER) in December 2019 with 29 athletes from 17 nations. The victories so far went to athletes from five nations: Cynthia Appiah (CAN, Lake Placid), Anastasiia Makarova (RUS, Lillehammer), Breeana Walker (AUS, Königssee and La PLagne) and Karlien Sleper from the Netherlands, who won both races in Park City. Qing Ying from coming Olympic host China tied with Walker for the win in Königssee.
In 2018 the IOC decided to accept Women’s Monobob as additional event for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. Then, the female bobsleigh athletes together with 2-woman Bobsleigh will have two Olympic medal events like the men (2-man and 4-man Bobsleigh).
The next and final Women’s Monobob event 2019/2020 is scheduled for April 3 in Lake Placid (USA). ©RWH2020
Photos: IBSF
