Laura Nolte is currently on track for gold in the monobob event at the Winter Olympics in Italy after completing two of the four runs. The 27-year-old World Cup overall champion set a course record during her first run, and despite making minor mistakes in the second run, she leads the competition comfortably.
As the leader, Nolte holds a 0.22-second advantage over American pilot Elana Meyers Taylor before the final two runs scheduled for this Monday. Following them are Olympian gold medalist Kaillie Armbruster Humphries from the United States and European champion Melanie Hasler from Switzerland.
Nolte expressed satisfaction with her performance, stating, “Things went really well for me today. I had some issues in training, but I had a very good plan in place, which I successfully executed.” She emphasized the importance of maintaining focus in the final runs, reminding herself that a lead of just two-tenths of a second can quickly diminish in the fast-paced monobob.
Meanwhile, Lisa Buckwitz, who recorded the fastest start in both runs, struggled with too many errors, leaving her in sixth place, nearly a second behind Nolte. “The start record is the best thing about today. The first run was really bad. I made the wrong choice with my runners, and that’s very disappointing,” Buckwitz remarked. Kim Kalicki finds herself in 16th place after the first day of competition.
Nolte, who narrowly missed out on a medal in Peking four years ago, finishing fourth behind three North American competitors, surprisingly secured gold in the two-person bobsleigh with teammate Deborah Levi. Reflecting on her improvements, she noted, “I was able to enhance my athleticism during the summer, which has helped me at the start, allowing me to keep up with the fastest competitors. This has undoubtedly boosted my chances in monobob.”
With her strategic approach and recent training improvements, Nolte is poised to contend strongly for Olympic glory, signaling a hopeful outlook for the remaining runs.