After her first win of the season shortly before Christmas, tobogganer Julia Taubitz also had all the trump cards in Sigulda. The Oberwiesenthaler led after the first run, but was unable to defend her half-time lead.
Julia Taubitz took third place in the first World Cup of the new year in Sigulda. The 29-year-old had to let Summer Britcher (USA) and Lisa Schulte (Austria) pass on Sunday (January 4, 2026). After the first run – which took place on Saturday – the Saxon woman was still in the lead.
Flu symptoms weaken Taubitz
The night in between was not good for the eight-time world champion and five-time overall World Cup winner. “I got the flu overnight. Some of us in the team are sick. It’s going around a bit again at the moment.”she said on ZDF. Taubitz was in shortly before Christmas Lake Placid celebrated their first win of the season and wanted to follow up.
On Saturday she managed a best running time despite problems at the start, but on Sunday she lacked strength. “Now it’s time to get healthy again and then attack again”she said on ZDF almost four weeks before the start of the Olympic Games (February 6th to 22nd). Taubitz wants to fulfill his dream of winning the Olympics at the highlight of the season. In 2022 she went into the Olympic race in Beijing as the favorite, but ended up only seventh after a fall in the second run.
Julia Taubitz in the ice channel in Sigulda.
Fräbel pushed out of the lead – rider catching up
Merle Fräbel is also one of the medal candidates at the Olympics. In Sigulda, the Thuringian came in fourth place immediately behind Taubitz (+0.096) and had to give up the yellow jersey of the World Cup leader.
Anna Berreiter, on the other hand, made a huge leap forward on Sunday. The Berchtesgaden native, who had a serious fall in Sigulda a few years ago and has been competing “a little more nervously” since then, drove cautiously in the first run on Saturday and was only in 14th place. A day later, Berreiter managed an almost flawless run that pushed the world champion up to eighth place.
German double-seaters are getting into shape
The races in Sigulda heralded the start of the Olympic year and also got off to a promising start for the German doubles. Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt narrowly missed their first win of the season with second place. In the women’s category, Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina also came in second place. Before the Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the lugers still have World Cup races ahead of them in Winterberg and Oberhof.