Hermann clinches World Cup gold in season finale

Hermann was fourth in the first of two runs, but her time of 58.42 seconds on her second pass vaulted her into the gold-medal position.

She finished 0.29 seconds ahead of Deas, who matched Hermann's scintillating second run to claim her first World Cup medal of the season.

The Winter Olympic bronze medallist found herself in seventh place after the first run, having posted a time of 59.26 seconds in Canada.

But she delivered the joint-fastest second run time along with Hermann to complete the podium places with an overall time of 1:57.68 minutes.

The 30-year-old was pipped to the silver medal by home favourite Mirela Rahneva, who posted a combined time of 1:57.52 to miss out on gold by 0.13 seconds.

It was Deas' first World Cup medal since she won bronze in Lake Placid in January 2016 and came a day after she had finished sixth in a make-up race for one cancelled in Germany earlier this season.

Calgary's Elisabeth Maier had led the way after the opening run, but she dropped to fourth following her second run having earned a bronze medal Friday.

Russia's Elena Nikitina, who finished in fifth on Saturday, won the season's overall World Cup title ahead of Hermann in second while Rahneva was third.

The sliders now turn their attention to the World Championships in Whistler in a little under a fortnight's time.

Sportsbeat 2019