Swiss pilots Melanie Hasler and Michael Vogt finish second and third in St. Moritz
St. Moritz (RWH) World Champion Laura Nolte (GER) is the winner of the Omega Monobob Invitational Race at the Olympia Bobrun St. Moritz Celerina (SUI). OMEGA and the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation IBSF had invited to the race at the end of the BMW IBSF World Championships 2023 St. Moritz-Celerina (SUI). Second place went to European Championship runner-up Melanie Hasler (SUI) ahead of Michael Vogt (SUI).
Four male and four female bobsleigh pilots and four Para athletes competed against each other in the uniform iXent monobobs, pushed by the automatic start system used in Para sport. Due to the identical bobsleds, which were all set to the same total weight before the race, it ultimately came down to skill on the steering ropes.
“As passionate supporters of Monobob, OMEGA is so proud and thrilled to witness this event taking place in St. Moritz. Since the very beginning, we’ve loved working alongside the IBSF to help grow this dynamic sport. Now, here we are together for the first OMEGA Monobob Invitational in 2023. It’s an honour to be part of such a memorable occasion, especially to see it taking place in our own home country”, said Raynald Aeschlimann, President and CEO OMEGA SA.
“This OMEGA race was a great premiere in regard to our future. It’s a way to show how we can include and integrate our different athletes in the sport and to reach gender equity”, said IBSF President Ivo Ferriani.
Competing in the men's event were Olympic Champions Francesco Friedrich (GER) and Justin Kripps (CAN), Michael Vogt (SUI) and World Championship runner-up Brad Hall (GBR), while in the women's event were European Championship runner-up Melanie Hasler (SUI), Olympic champions Kaillie Humphries (USA) and Laura Nolte (GER), as well as Olympic fifth-place finisher Breeana Walker from Australia, winner of the first women's monobob race in November 2018 in Lillehammer (NOR). Among the Para athletes, two-time World Champions Jonas Frei (SUI) and Lonnie Bissonnette (CAN), US pilot Robert Balk as well as Gabriela Knapova (CZE) competed.
