St. Moritz returns to the center of the winter sports map at a decisive moment in the Olympic cycle. The Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup of the IBSF, which will also award the titles of the 2026 European Championships, represents the penultimate opportunity for athletes to earn crucial points on the road to the Winter Olympic Games. At the historic Bobrun Olympia St. Moritz-Celerina, every run carries weight far beyond the stopwatch.
The setting could not be more symbolic. The only natural sliding track left in the world, built by hand each year with snow and ice, hosts a weekend filled with competitive tension, sporting memory and Olympic ambition. With seven disciplines in action and continental medals at stake for European athletes, St. Moritz becomes a meeting point between tradition, present and the future of bobsleigh and skeleton.
St. Moritz, a natural temple at the heart of the Olympic season
The 1,722-metre track between St. Moritz and Celerina is not only the longest on the IBSF calendar, but also one of the most demanding technically and mentally. Its 19 curves, navigated in silence by sleds that do not rely on artificial refrigeration, require a fine reading of the ice and an almost intuitive connection between pilot, team and track. Here, speed is built through precision, not through margin for error.
That this venue simultaneously hosts the sixth of seven events of the 2025/2026 World Cup and the European Championships adds an extra dimension to every race. For European athletes, the outcome defines not only overall points but also continental titles, in a context where every detail can make the Olympic difference.
Consolidated leaders and new stories on the ice
In women’s skeleton, Austria’s Janine Flock arrives as the reigning European champion and World Cup leader, backed by a career that already includes twelve continental medals. Around her, rivals such as Kim Meylemans, Amelia Coltman and Kimberley Bos keep alive a battle that blends experience and renewal, while Switzerland looks to return to the podium at home for the first time since 2020. In the men’s field, Britain’s Matt Weston tops the overall standings after a season start marked by cancellations and rescheduled races, on a track where he already knows what it means to win and to be crowned world champion.
The programme also marks a milestone with the debut of the European Mixed Team Skeleton Championships, a race that symbolises the evolution of the sport and its adaptation to more inclusive formats. In parallel, monobob and women’s bobsleigh present a landscape dominated by Germany, with Laura Nolte as the benchmark, while athletes such as Kaillie Armbruster Humphries and Switzerland’s Melanie Hasler bring stories of comeback, consistency and ambition in the middle of the Olympic season.
A clash of powers and living memory in men’s bobsleigh
Men’s bobsleigh arrives in St. Moritz with an internal German showdown that has defined the season. Johannes Lochner leads the standings in two-man bobsleigh, closely followed by Francesco Friedrich, Olympic and world champion, in a rivalry that also extends to the four-man event. Both arrive with recent milestones — including their 100th World Cup podiums — reflecting an era of sustained dominance and excellence.
For Switzerland, competing at home carries special meaning. Pilots such as Michael Vogt, alongside Cédric Follador and Timo Rohner, seek to extend a tradition that has not seen a men’s European champion since the era of Beat Hefti. In this intersection of history and present, St. Moritz becomes more than a venue: a place where the Olympic future begins to take shape, curve by curve.
