Julia Taubitz celebrates 20th World Cup victory
Winterberg (FIL, 11.02.2023) At the double success of the German women in Winterberg, winner Julia Taubitz celebrated her 20th World Cup victory. It was the third time in a row that she dominated the ice track of the VELTINS EisArena as the fastest. She won ahead of her teammate Anna Berreiter and the US-American Emily Sweeney. At the finish line, she first hugged her sled, “my racehorse”, as she explained later in the mixed zone.
Even before the start, the winner was in a relaxed mood. The Vice World Champion was happy about the better weather, hoped for a bit of sunshine and even signed autographs for the fans at the track during the warm-up. After the first run, she already had a lead of 0.122 seconds over the Nations Cup winner Hannah Prock from Austria. She won in an overall time of 1:51.683 ahead of World Champion Anna Berreiter (+0.208 sec.), who had moved up from fourth to second after a faulty first run.
The US-American Emily Sweeney finished third, 0.355 seconds behind. After two second places in Innsbruck and Park City it was the third podium in individual World Cup this season for the 29-year-old from Suffield, Connecticut. Sprint World Champion Dajana Eitberger (GER, +0.400 sec.) ended up in fourth place, closely followed by Hannah Prock (AUT, +0.468 sec.) and Merle Fräbel (GER, +0.574 sec.).
It was the 20th World Cup victory of Julia Taubitz's career. This season alone, the 26-year-old from Saxony has already been on the podium eight times in sprint and World Cup, three of them at the top. Before the sprint decision in the afternoon, she leads the overall World Cup standings with 706 points.
Quotes:
Julia Taubitz (GER): “Today it must have been the Jagatee, the good music and the great atmosphere. I like the track a lot and really enjoy racing here. The training went well and I felt good today. It was one of those days where everything worked out. The material matched the weather and I went into the race relaxed. I am happy to be on top of the podium.”
Anna Berreiter (GER): “The first run was not good at all. Thanks again to my physio Mitch, who fixed my slight shoulder and neck problems so that I could race today. I did better in the second run at the top, but was not without mistakes at the bottom. I'm happy with my performance though.“
Emily Sweeney (USA): “The start here in Winterberg is incredibly hard and demanding. I'm fine, but after the injury break during the World Championships in Oberhof, I don't feel quite as physically and athletically fit. However, it's nice to be back on the podium. That makes me very happy.”
Die Ergebnisse des 7. EBERSPÄCHER Weltcups der Saison 2022/23 gibt es unter folgendem Link: https://www.fil-luge.org/de/ergebnisse/eberspaecher-weltcup-25
