In the first day of the Olympic two-man bobsleigh competition, Latvian athlete Kalenda placed sixth overall. The leader after the first runs was Johannes Lohner, who set a new start and track record with a time of 54.68 seconds. Kalenda, starting tenth, managed to overtake one competitor but finished exactly one second behind Lohner. The competition for the top six remained fierce as Kalenda trailed local competitor Patrik Baumgartner by only 0.1 seconds, while Jinsu Kim from South Korea was just 0.05 seconds further ahead in fifth place.

The competition featured intense races with major challenges for many pilots in the second run. Adam Amurs, who began strong, fell to third place alongside his pusher Alexander Schaller, while Francesco Friedrich and pusher Alexander Schiller improved their standing to second. Johannes Lohner maintained his lead, extending the gap to his closest rivals by 0.8 seconds and 1.24 seconds respectively after the first day of runs.

Kalenda's performance indicated a strong potential to break into the top tier as the competition progresses. With only slight time differentials separating the competitors from fifth to eleventh place, Kalenda is well within reach of enhancing his position in the upcoming heats, aiming to qualify for the final rounds as he continues to compete against his international counterparts in pursuit of Olympic success.