Australian bobsleigh star Bree Walker has made history, becoming the first Australian to claim gold on the iconic Celerina track in St. Moritz, winning the monobob World Cup event.
The victory is Walker’s third World Cup win of the season and lifts her to second overall in the standings, with just one event remaining before the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
The Celerina track is one of bobsleigh’s most revered venues, famed as the only track in the world built from hand-cut ice and cooled naturally. Rich in Olympic history, it previously hosted bobsleigh competition at the 1928 and 1948 Winter Games.
The 33-year-old from Queensland set the tone in the opening run with a fast push and her trademark precision driving, clocking 1:11.98 seconds, the fastest time of the round and 0.14 seconds clear of second place.
In the final run, as the last competitor on the track, Walker delivered another flawless performance, stopping the clock at 1:11.29 seconds. Her combined time of 2:23.27 secured victory by a commanding 0.53-second margin, marking the sixth World Cup win of her career.
Switzerland’s Melanie Hasler claimed silver with 2:23.80, while Austria’s Katrin Beierl took bronze in 2:23.95.
After the race, Walker praised her coach Pierre Lueders for helping her achieve her breakthrough victory at St. Moritz.
“Pierre has been teaching me for years, and it’s been a slow process. He loves this track and has had so much success here, so I think I should dedicate this win to him today.”
Reflecting on Lueders’ reaction in the coaches’ box, Walker added:
“Well that’s fantastic, I’m glad Pierre had a lot of fun today, I sure did, and especially to be on the podium with Kati and Mel, that’s our dream podium and we had a really good time.”
Also competing for Australia was Sarah Blizzard in 20th place.
The win moves Walker into second place on the monobob World Cup standings with 1219 points, trailing Laura Nolte of Germany by 27 points on 1246, with Lisa Buckwitz also of Germany in third with 1128 points.
Walker will return to the Celerina track tomorrow in St Moritz for the two-woman bobsleigh event, teaming up with brakewoman Kiara Reddingius and Blizzard will be joined by Desi Johnson.
