Germans fill bobsleigh podium at home in women’s, men’s races

Host Germany dominated the fields in a pair of World Cup bobsled races on Saturday, sweeping all six medals up for grabs in women’s and four-man competitions.

Germany’s Stephanie Schneider drove to the win in the women’s race in one minute 55.46 seconds at Winterberg. Olympic champion Mariama Jamanka was second in 1:55.50 and Laura Nolte third in 1:55.59.

The top non-German finisher in the women’s race was Kaillie Humphries of the U.S., who was fourth in 1:55.90. And that was good enough for Humphries to keep her spot atop the World Cup women’s standings after three races this season.

CBC Sports’ live stream of the event resumes on Sunday at 5 a.m. ET with the men’s and women’s skeleton races. For more coverage, tune into Road to the Olympic Games on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

WATCH | Stephanie Schneider, Kira Lipperheide capture gold at home:

Germans sweep the podium as Stephanie Schneider and Kira Lipperheide finish 1st with a time of 1:55.46.3:10

The Canadian sled featuring Christine de Bruin along with Kristen Bujnowski finished seventh at 1:56.06. De Bruin, who earned bronze in Lake Placid in December, sits fourth in the standings.

In the four-man race, Johannes Lochner rallied in the second heat to prevail in 1:50.54, leading his country’s sweep and extending its dominance at Winterberg. Germany has won 24 of a possible 27 medals in the last nine four-man races held at Winterberg.

Francesco Friedrich was second in 1:50.56 and Nico Walther was third in 1:50.76. The U.S. sled driven by Hunter Church was eighth in 1:51.27.

Justin Kripps guided his Canadian sled to a sixth-place finish after finishing fifth in Friday’s race. Kripps, who captured two wins in Lake Placid to start the season, slipped from first to third in the standings.

WATCH | Germany’s Friedrich leads podium sweep on home track:

Reigning World and Olympic champion Fransciso Friedrich won his first World Cup 4-man bobsleigh gold medal of the season in Winterberg, Germany on Friday.2:03

News