Love wins monobob World Cup gold for US, Lochner tops Friedrich again, luge races on Olympic track

IGLS, Austria (AP) – Reigning world champion Kaysha Love of the U.S. got the fourth women’s monobob World Cup win of her career on Saturday, rallying in the second run of the two-heat race for the victory.

Love was second behind Australia’s Bree Walker going into the final run at the Igls-Innsbruck track. But Love’s second-run time of 55.97 seconds was the fastest of the day, and that was enough.

Germany’s Laura Nolte – now tied with Love atop the World Cup monobob standings – was second, 0.17 seconds back. Germany’s Lisa Buckwitz took third and Walker settled for fourth.

Also for the U.S., Elana Meyers Taylor was eighth and Kaillie Humphries was ninth.

The best rivalry in bobsled – Germany vs. Germany – saw another close finish, with Johannes Lochner nipping Francesco Friedrich by five-hundredths of a second on Saturday.

Lochner is now 2-for-2 in two-man races this World Cup season, teaming with Georg Fleischhauer to finish two runs in 1 minute, 45.08 seconds. Friedrich, who swept the two- and four-man golds at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Games, paired with Alexander Schaller to finish in 1:45.13.

Germany swept the medals in two-man, with Adam Ammour and Tim Becker finishing third in 1:45.89. Frank Del Duca and Boone Niederhofer were fourth for the U.S., tying for that spot with South Korea’s Kim Jin-su and Kim Hyeong-geun.

There are two-woman and four-man races at Igls on Sunday.

There were no skeleton races at this World Cup after a majority of athletes voted to cancel this weekend’s slate, citing inadequate track preparation and a lack of training time. Those races will be rescheduled for Dec. 20-21 at Sigulda, Latvia.

At Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy, on Saturday, the world’s top luge athletes formally raced for the first time on the track where the Olympics will be held in February.

And Germany, the traditional sliding power, swept the wins.

Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa got a second-place finish in men’s doubles for the U.S., but reigning world champions Hannes Orlamünder and Paul Gubitz got the victory. Germany also took third in that race, with Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt finishing just behind the Americans.

In women’s doubles, Germany’s Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina prevailed, with Italy’s Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer taking second and world champions Selina Egle and Lara Kipp of Austria placing third.

In women’s singles, Germany’s Merle Fraebel won over teammate Julia Taubitz, with Austria’s Lisa Schulte third. Ashley Farquharson was fourth for the U.S.

There is a men’s singles race on Sunday, as well as a team relay. The races this weekend on the Olympic track do not count toward the World Cup standings.