PREVIEW: HEATS 3 AND 4
TWO-WOMAN BOBSLED: HEATS 1 AND 2 RESULTS
AT THE MIDPOINT:
- Laura Nolte/Deborah Levi, GER, 2:02.05
- Mariama Jamanka/Alexandra Burghardt, GER, (+ 0.50)
- Elana Meyers Taylor/Sylvia Hoffman, USA, (+ 0.74)
WATCH FULL EVENT REPLAY: HEATS 1 AND 2 | SEE FULL STANDINGS | READ THE RECAP
On Saturday, 20 teams will close out the two-woman bobsled competition — but only five are serious medal contenders. Germany has all but clinched two of the three podium positions, but will Elana Meyers Taylor score a second Games silver? Can Kaillie Humphries find a way to edge herself into the mix?
The first portion of the bobsled race saw Germany's Laura Nolte blast the fastest two heats for a 2:02.05-minute total. Her half-minute lead may be impossible to beat.
Meanwhile, the event's defending gold medalist Mariama Jamanka sped to a somewhat surprising second standing following inconsistent results during the most recent World Cup season, plus a poor performance in Olympic monobob.
Meyers Taylor, the American monobob silver medalist, received a special surprise just ahead of her runs — she was selected as the Team USA flagbearer for the Closing Ceremony. The four-time Olympian landed firmly in third at the midpoint.
SEE MORE: Meyers Taylor's two-woman heats good for third at midpoint
SEE MORE: Elana Meyers Taylor elected Team USA's Closing Ceremony flagbearer
Team USA's monobob gold medalist Humphries dropped to fifth standing at the midpoint with two slightly flawed runs, and will have to fight her way to the podium.
The original preview for the two-woman competition, published earlier this week, is below. Read a full recap of the first pair of two-woman heats HERE.
SEE MORE: Kaillie Humphries in fifth after Heats 1 and 2 in two-woman
ORIGINAL TWO-WOMAN BOBSLED PREVIEW:
Any questions about why Kaillie Humphries dropped out of the last two monobob training heats, or if Elana Meyers Taylor lost fitness after quarantine, were emphatically quashed last Sunday after Team USA’s stars won gold and silver in the Olympics’ newest bobsledding discipline.
On Friday and Saturday, Humphries and Meyers Taylor will compete in the two-woman race, their final 2022 Winter Olympics event. Given their monobob dominance, they are again considered medal favorites. If Humphries manages another gold – her fourth – she'll tie the record currently held by Germany's Andre Lange and Kevin Kuske.
SEE MORE: Humphries and Meyers Taylor talk medals: 'This is for USA'
SEE MORE: Meet the 2022 U.S. Bobsled Olympic Team
For this race, Humphries will drive brakewoman Kaysha Love and Meyers Taylor will be backed by pusher Sylvia Hoffman. The 24-year-old Love, making her Olympic debut, previously won two-woman gold with Humphries at the Altenberg World Cup stop in December. Hoffman, another Games newbie at 32, has trained and competed alongside both Humphries and Meyers Taylor; she and Humphries earned World Cup bronze in two events this past season.
At the end of eight 2021-22 Bobsled World Cup events, Meyers Taylor topped the two-woman standings, while Humphries ranked fifth. Between them: Germany’s Nolte and Kim Kalicki, followed by Canada’s Christine de Bruin in fourth. De Bruin went on to clinch Olympic monobob bronze, while Nolte occupied third standing after two heats – but ultimately finished fourth following a poor third run.
SEE MORE: German Laura Nolte first in monobob training Heats 5 and 6
All this to say: A repeat, one-two finish for the Americans is far from a lock.
Germany, spearheaded by Nolte, will likely pose the biggest threat – though each of the country's three pilots has shown some sign of potential weakness. Neither Nolte nor Kalicki participated in the first pair of six total two-woman practice runs, for reasons unknown; Kalicki also skipped the last two. However, Nolte went undefeated in Training Heats 3 through 6, while Kalicki finished second and then sixth. More significantly, Kalicki did not compete in the Olympic monobob event, while Nolte finished more than two seconds behind Humphries in that race.
SEE MORE: PyeongChang 2018: Jamanka, Buckwitz can't believe they won
Germany’s defending gold medalist, Jamanka, placed sixth in the two-woman World Cup standings this season. She finished 13th in Olympic monobob – a full 4.73 seconds off Humphries. But her practice results suggest she now possesses a better understanding of the highly technical and tricky Xiaohaituo Bobsled and Luge Track, nicknamed "The Dragon": She managed a top-four position in each of the first five heats.
While she could conceivably earn a medal, Jamanka is unlikely to repeat as Olympic champion.
SEE MORE: POV: Zoom 80 miles per hour down 'The Dragon' bobsled course
SEE MORE: Bobsled 101: Venue
Of course, the consistently impressive de Bruin could also blow away the competition: She finished in the top five of all her training runs.
Still, the Americans certainly have the momentum coming into the race. Following monobob, Humphries and Meyers Taylor now own four Olympic bobsledding medals – more than any other female athlete in the history of their sport.
They may share a flag, but – in the absence of a rare dead heat – Humphries and Meyers Taylor know only one can claim gold ... if someone else doesn't get there first.
Heats 1 and 2 of bobsled's two-woman race begin Friday, Feb. 18 at 7 a.m. ET. Check the sport's full schedule HERE.
SEE MORE: How to watch Elana Meyers Taylor at the 2022 Winter Olympics on NBC and Peacock