Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup season 2022/23: Schedule and stars to watch
Check out our preview on the Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup season 2022/23. The North American legs are back, the World Championships take place on a sustainable track, Franceso Friedrich is hunting for more gold, and Elana Meyers Taylor just keeps on going.
The 2022/23 Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup is just around the corner, so get ready for eight legs of high-octane action.
One year on from the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, sliders will compete in USA and Canada legs for the first time since their two-year pandemic-enforced hiatus.
Elsewhere, the 2022/23 World Championships return to St. Moritz’s ultra fast, super-sustainable natural ice track in Switzerland.
In bobsleigh, Francesco Friedrich of Germany and USA’s Elana Meyers Taylor are odds on to defend their men’s and women’s World Cup titles respectively from 2021/22.
Meanwhile in skeleton, there will be at least one new World Cup champion after the retirement of Latvian legend Martins Dukurs.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at the season schedule, top storylines and the stars to look out for.
Elana Meyers Taylor on continuing winning tradition of black athletes
Bobsleigh stars to watch in 2022/23
The new season will begin with a bang with three legs in North America, which is great news for women’s monobob, two-women, and women’s combined World Cup champion Elana Meyers Taylor.
The 38-year-old American, who won her fourth and fifth Olympic medals in Beijing, is currently pregnant with her second child, but has already committed to returning to bobsleigh as soon as possible this season.
Another American to watch out for this season is Kaillie Humphries, who won the first ever monobob Olympic gold at Beijing 2022.
Elsewhere on the women’s side, big things are expected of Germany’s former Youth Olympic Games champion Laura Nolte, who landed two-woman Olympic gold in Beijing alongside Deborah Levi.
On the men’s side, all eyes will be on the GOAT Francesco Friedrich.
After retaining his two and four-man Olympic titles in Beijing alongside Thorsten Margis, the German set his sights on a hat-trick at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games, and it would take a seismic effort to beat him this season.
Skeleton stars to watch in 2022/23
With six-time world champion Martins Dukurs having retired after Beijing 2022, there will be a new champion in men’s skeleton this year.
However, the Latvian will stay in the sport as the new Team GB coach, meaning new mentee Matt Weston, who was a joint-winner at Innsbruck-Igls last year, could be one to keep an eye on.
Another serious contender on the men’s side is German Axel Jungk, who won Olympic silver in Beijing.
He was beaten in China by compatriot Christopher Grotheer, who is also the reigning world champion and is the favourite for this season.
For the women, 30-year-old five-time world champion Tina Hermann shows no signs of slowing down after being crowned German champion in October 2022.
As ever, she will face stiff competition from compatriot, and 2022 Olympic silver medallist, Jacqueline Lölling.
Completing their national line up will be Hannah Neise who won Germany’s first skeleton Olympic title in 2022.
Outside of the Germans, expect a strong challenge from Dutch reigning World Cup champion Kimberley Bos.
2022–23 Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup Schedule
26-27 Nov 2022 - Whistler, Canada
3-4 Dec - Park City, USA
17-18 Dec - Lake Placid, USA
7-8 Jan 2023 - Winterberg, Germany
14-15 Jan - Altenberg, Gerany
21-22 Jan - Altenberg, Germany (Also European Championships)
23 Jan - 5 Feb - St. Moritz, Switzerland (World Championships)
11-12 Feb - Innsbruck-Igls, Austria
18-19 Feb - Sigulda, Latvia
