Oberhof/Erfurt (RWH): In the run-up to the Olympic season, the Skeleton World Champion Jacqueline Lölling has broken the standard start time for the German World Cup team for the first time. The German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation (BSD) announced her achievement in a press release.
After she won gold in the Junior World Championships and a silver medal in the 2015 World Championships, the German coaches took a leap of faith and selected Jacqueline Lölling to join the World Cup team for her first World Cup season in 2015/2016, despite her having missed out on the standard start time. With finishing second overall in the 2016 World Cup, she secured her starting place on the team for the following season – before going on to win the World Championships, European Championships and overall victory in the World Cup in 2017.
At the central BSD performance test, the 22-year-old broke the required start time of 5.00 seconds by the skin of her teeth, recording a time of 4.99 seconds.
The starting test in Oberhof was won by Sophia Griebel for the women and up-and-coming athlete Felix Keisinger for the men. Sophia Griebel, who finished seventh in the 2016 World Championships, has returned to the sport after an 18-month break due to injury.
The skeleton selection races for the German team at the 2017/2018 BMW IBSF World Cup are scheduled to take place in Winterberg, Königssee and Altenberg in October. ©RWH2017
2017 Skeleton World Champion Jacqueline Lölling, GER - Photo: Viesturs Lacis
