Canada’s Cynthia Appiah secured a silver medal in the women’s monobob event at the IBSF World Cup held in Winterberg, Germany, on Saturday, achieving her career-best performance. Hailing from Toronto, Appiah completed the two heats with a total time of one minute and 58.53 seconds. This victory marked her first monobob World Cup medal of the season and her eighth career medal in this discipline.
Expressing her joy, Appiah remarked, “This feels amazing. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my back.” The gold medal in the event was claimed by Germany’s Laura Nolte, finishing with a time of 1:58.37, her second World Cup win in monobob this season and her fifth medal in as many attempts. Another German, Lisa Buckwitz, secured the bronze with a time of 1:58.57.
Appiah started in fourth place after the initial heat but managed to advance two spots by delivering the fastest run of 59.38 seconds in the final heat. “It’s great to have the fastest run again,” she expressed. “It’s something I haven’t had since the last Olympic season. To have the fastest down time in the second run, especially on a German track where you know it’s going to be a tough battle, is huge.”
Former Canadian competitor Kaillie Humphries represented the United States with a fifth-place finish. Melissa Lotholz from Barrhead, Alberta, tied with American Elana Meyers Taylor for sixth place, while the reigning world champion, Kaysha Love from the U.S., secured the eighth position.