Latvian Arturs Klots wins silver in St. Moritz ahead of Christopher Stewart from Switzerland
St. Moritz (RWH) The 2023 IBSF Para-Sport World Championships ended with a small piece of sports history: At the Olympia Bobrun St. Moritz-Celerina (SUI), World Championship gold in Para Bobsleigh went to Hermann Ellmauer and thus to an athlete from Austria for the first time.
In an extremely close fourth run Ellmauer secured his first World Championship title with 0.08 seconds ahead of European Champion Arturs Klots (LAT). The Latvian, World Champion in 2017 and 2018, had started the final day in sixth place and secured his silver medal with the fastest time in the last of the four heats.
Third place went to the World Championships host team from Switzerland: Christopher Stewart (SUI, 0.28 seconds back), who started the second race day as the leader, won World Championships bronze on his hometrack in St. Moritz. Ellmauer and Stewart had entered the final run as leader and runner-up with a gap of 0.01 seconds.
Fourth place on the Olympia Bobrun went to 2016 and 2019 World Champion Lonnie Bissonnette (CAN), ahead of US pilot Guillermo Castillo and Briton Corie Mapp.
In St. Moritz, the IBSF athletes with disabilities joined all other IBSF disciplines for the first time at a joint World Championships. At the 2023 BMW IBSF World Championships St. Moritz-Celerina, para-sport is one of the eight disciplines with decisions for gold, silver and bronze.
For more detailed information including athlete profiles and results please visit ibsf.org. Photos for editorial use can be found at Flickr. ©RWH2023
Hermann Ellmauer (AUT, World Champion 2023, European Championship fourth 2021).
"World Champion, that's really incredible. And it was really a very close race. My fourth run was actually not my best, but it was still enough."
Arturs Klots (LAT, Silver 2023, World Champion 17 + 18, European Champion 17 + 23)
"The first World Championship day with the first two race runs did not go so well. Instead, the third and fourth runs were really, really good today. That's what ultimately won me the medal."
Christopher Stewart (SUI, 2023 World Championships bronze, 2019 European Champion).
"There are mixed feelings right now: I'm happy to be on the podium, at the same time I'm disappointed especially about my fourth run and that it wasn't enough for silver anymore. But Arturs Klots was really strong and Hermann Ellmauer really delivered, especially in the third run. It's nice that as part of the IBSF World Championships we get more attention from the media and the fans this year."
Photos: IBSF / Girts Kehris
