Australian bob pilot Bree Walker has sped to a record-breaking victory, achieving a hat-trick of World Cup victories on her favourite Lillehammer track in a terrific pre-Olympic boost as she continues to demonstrate her credentials to strike gold.
The Victorian slider pulled off the fourth World Cup win of her career and her first of Olympic season as she shone in the third race of the 2025-26 campaign in Norway on Saturday, shattering her own track record by more than a tenth of a second.
Clocking 53.86 seconds in the first run, the 33-year-old track-running convert became the first woman monobob pilot to crack the 54-second barrier there, rating the victory one of the best of her burgeoning career.
"Three in a row, I'm really happy with today's drive," said Walker. "I think this is probably one of the best races I've been able to put together.
"I'm really happy with my driving, it's been very consistent this year, and my pushing has been going really well.
"In my last race, I actually hurt my back in the first heat, so I couldn't really finish it off in the second," added Walker, as she reflected on her fourth-place finish last time out in Igls.
"But we did some really good rehab and prep over the last two weeks, so, yeah, super happy with today's race."
It was so good, indeed, that it even brought a smile to the face of her tough Canadian Olympic-winning coach Pierre Lueders. "Did he smile?" asked Walker. "That's funny! Yeah, if the coach is happy, then I'm definitely happy."
What made it particularly encouraging was the comprehensive margin of victory, as Walker finished quickest on both runs -- the second was timed at 54.02sec -- for a combined two-run time of 1min 47.88sec that was a huge 0.44sec faster than her nearest rival, Austrian Katrin Beierl.
Beierl made the World Cup podium for the first time with Germany's double world champion Laura Nolte a further 0.04sec adrift in third
Swiss Melanie Hasler, second after the first run, slumped to fourth in the final standings, with Germany's defending World Cup champ Lisa Buckwitz fifth.
"I love Lillehammer, we spend a lot of time here," said Walker. "To be able to walk away with the win -- by that much too -- is really crazy. The field is so strong this year, so I'm just stoked with that result."
It meant that in the overall season's standings with four of the seven races remaining, Nolte (635 points) leads by just 18 points from Walker (617) with Buckwitz on 568. America's reigning world champ Kaysha Love had a poor day, finishing 14th to slip to fourth overall.
