SIGULDA, Latvia (AP) — Olympic champion Mariama Jamanka of Germany teamed with Annika Drazek to win the first World Cup women's bobsled race of the season on Friday.
Jamanka finished her two runs in 1 minute, 42.68 seconds. Russia's Nadezhda Sergeeva won her first World Cup medal, taking silver with Yulia Belomestnykh in 1:43.29, and Germany took third with Anna Koehler and Lisa Sophie Gericke finishing in 1:43.50.
The top U.S. finish was a fifth-place showing for driver Brittany Reinbolt and Lauren Gibbs, who were 1.39 seconds off the lead. Three-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor and rookie Sylvia Hoffmann were disqualified after being third in the first run because their sled was too light.
Only 10 sleds entered the race and eight finished.
