Germany's Laura Nolte beats American rivals again for another bobsled win at Olympics test event

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Germany’s Laura Nolte celebrated her 27th birthday by edging out her American rivals to win the two-woman bobsled test event on the new track for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday.

Nolte, the reigning Olympic and world champion, and Deborah Levi finished 0.77 seconds ahead of Kaysha Love of the United States — who was paired with Azaria Hill — and 0.79 ahead of another American duo, driven by Kaillie Humphries Armbruster.

It was a second win in as many days for Nolte, who also beat Love in the monobob test event the previous day.

Humphries Armbruster, the Olympic champion in 2010 and 2014, celebrated her first podium in two-woman World Cup bobsled in almost three years. She took a break from the sport for a season and her son was born in 2024.

“I’m happy with my performance, it’s a step in the right direction,” she said. “The first run I was really happy with my drive and second run I was happy with our push, so piece by piece it’s coming together."

Johannes Lochner beat Francesco Friedrich for the second day in a row to win the four-man event.

Lochner and his team of Jörn Wenzel, Georg Fleischhauer and Thorsten Margis beat Friedrich by 0.22 seconds. The Olympic champion had Matthias Sommer, Alexander Schüller and Felix Straub in his sled.

South Korea's Kim Jinsu, with Kim Sunwook, Kim Hyeonggeun and Lee Geonu, secured their country's first four-man podium finish in the World Cup. The quartet finished in third, 0.61 behind Lochner, and celebrated almost as if they’d won.

It’s the first weekend of racing on the completely rebuilt Eugenio Monti track, which will be used for the Feb. 6-22 Olympics.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Kim Jinsu, Kim Sunwook, Kim Hyeonggeun and Lee Geonu, of South Korea, react as they finish their second run during the 4-man bobsleigh World Cup and Olympic test event in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Johannes Lochner, Thorsten Margis, Joern Wenzel and Georg Fleischhauer, of Germany, start their first run during the 4-man bobsleigh World Cup and Olympic test event in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Kaysha Love and Azaria Hill, of the United States, race down the course during the 2-woman bobsleigh World Cup and Olympic test event in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Second placed Kaysha Love and Azaria Hill, of the United States, winners Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi, of Germany, and third placed Kaillie Armbruster Humphries and Sylvia Hoffman, of the United States, pose on the podium of the 2-woman bobsleigh World Cup and Olympic test event in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi, of Germany, celebrate when finishing their second run during the 2-woman bobsleigh World Cup and Olympic test event in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

LONDON (AP) — A 45-year-old man was charged Friday with attempted murder in the stabbings of two Jewish men in London, the latest in a string of attacks that have sparked fear and anger in Britain's Jewish community.

Essa Suleiman was remanded into custody after appearing in Westminster Magistrates' Court to face two counts related to the attack in Golders Green. He also faces a third count of attempted murder over an incident elsewhere in the city earlier Wednesday that left a man with minor injuries.

Police have labeled the Golders Green attack an act of terrorism.

Suleiman, a Somalia-born British citizen who lives in London, did not enter a plea. His case was transferred to the Central Criminal Court for a May 15 hearing.

Prosecutor Emma Harraway said Suleiman attacked Ishmail Hussein, his friend of 20 years, in south London before taking a train to the north part of the city where he targeted Jews hours later.

Shloime Rand, 34, was stabbed in the chest outside a synagogue, puncturing his lung, and Norman Shine, 76, who was wearing a traditional Jewish skullcap, was stabbed in the neck at a bus stop.

“As Mr. Shine adjusted his kippah, Suleiman ran towards him and set upon him, launching a series of aggressive blows," Harraway said.

Rand was discharged from the hospital and Shine is in stable condition.

Police said Suleiman was referred in 2020 to the government’s Prevent program, which tries to steer individuals away from extremism. The police force said his file was closed later the same year, and didn’t disclose the reason for the referral.

The British government pledged to tackle antisemitism after the stabbings in an area in north London that is an epicenter of Britain’s Jewish community. The assault followed a string of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in London in recent weeks.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his government would increase security for the Jewish community and “do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out.”

Britain’s official terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe after Wednesday’s stabbing attack. Severe is the second-highest rung on a five-point scale and means intelligence agencies consider an attack highly likely in the next six months.

The government said the change was not due solely to the Golders Green attack but also due to increased danger “from Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the U.K.”

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, right, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, 2nd left, speak with members of the Jewish community during a visit to Golders Green, north west London, Thursday April 30, 2026, following an attack on Wednesday in which two men were stabbed. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)

Police on duty outside Golders Green tube station in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026, near the scene where two people were recently stabbed in the Golders Green neighbourhood, that has a large Jewish community. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Two men walk in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026, near the scene where two people were recently stabbed in the Golders Green neighbourhood, that has a large Jewish community. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

People look out of a window near the scene where two people were stabbed the previous day in the Golders Green neighbourhood, which has a large Jewish community, in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)