The new Latvian crew celebrates its debut in Sigulda
Latvian bobsled duet – pilot Amelia Kotane and pushed Justine Bērziņa – on Sunday, December 21, won the 18th place in the women’s doubles competition of the World Cup stage held on the home track in Sigulda. As the portal jauns.lv informs, this start marks an important step for the two young athletes, who measured their strength against the world’s elite crews. Although the result is no claim to podium places, participation at a major international level is essential experience. In total, 19 crews took part in the competition, of which one Danish crew did not participate at the beginning of the second race, so the Latvians overtook one competitor.
Kotāne and Bērziņa reached the 18th position in the first race and managed to keep it even after the final, being behind the winners by 3.31 seconds in the sum of two races. This is one of the marks for Latvian bobsleigh this season, in which athletes are actively fighting for tickets to the 2026 Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympic Games.
Women’s events at a glance: doubles and singles bobsled
In the women’s doubles, victory was celebrated by the US crew of Kaley Humphreys and Emily Renn, who were second in the first heat, but set their best time in the second, securing first place with a combined time of 1 minute, 42.80 seconds. Germany’s Liza Bukwitz and Laurina Siebert finished in second place with a difference of 0.27 seconds. They were followed by another German crew with driver Laura Nolte, who lost just 0.01 seconds to the runners-up. This fierce battle for medals at the top confirms the high level of this competition.
It should be noted that Amelia Kotane made her debut at the World Cup on Saturday in monobobsleywhere in the strong competition she won 19th place among 19 competing athletes. Kotāne is the first Latvian bobsledder, who since 2008 has participated in women’s competitions at this level of the forum.
An important step for Latvian bobsleigh
This is a valuable event in the sports community, because the inclusion of the new generation of athletes in the international circuit is essential for the development of winter sports in Latvia. Although the previous week, including the results of the two trips in Sigulda, might not be considered particularly successful from the point of view of the officials, it provides invaluable competition practice on the home, technical Sigulda track.
Before this stage, Kotāne and Bērziņa had already accumulated the first rating points in the North American Cup, where their best achievement was the 9th place in the doubles competition at the beginning of December in Park City, USA. Such experience abroad also helps to prepare for home competitions, which often have a special emotional load.
The context of the World Cup stage in Sigulda
The stage of the IBSF World Cup in Sigulda took place from December 18 to 21, gathering a record number of participants from more than 30 countries. The competition was special in that, due to the canceled Innsbruck stage, skeletonists competed twice. The Latvian team was represented at the World Cup by three bobsleigh crews and four skeletonists.
Among the men’s crews in this stage, Jēkabs Kalenda with Edgars Ungurus won 13th place, while Renārs Grantiņš with Arni Bebriša finished in 18th position. These results show that the track at home does not always guarantee a breakthrough, as local fans often expect, however, every race is a necessary step for the growth of athletes.
