Canadian Teenagers Slide into Top-15 at Viessmann Luge World Cup in Whistler

WHISTLER, B.C.—Two Calgary-based teenagers slid into the top-15 on home ice at the Viessmann Luge World Cup in Whistler, B.C. on Friday evening.

Carolyn Maxwell led a foursome of young Canadians in the women’s singles race on Friday afternoon with a 12th-place finish. Makenna Hodgson was 14th.

The 19-year-old Maxwell had the second- and third-fastest start times in each of her two heats but wasn’t able to hold the speed while slithering down the 15-corner track on Blackcomb Mountain, finishing with a time of 1:17.881.

“I had two really good starts today so I’m happy about that,” said Maxwell, who has been on the senior squad for the last two years. “We all have goals that we set for each race, but we have to understand what it takes to get there. First is the start, then the next corner and the next one. We have to take it step-by-step. Today, I was particularly happy with the starts so that’s what I’ll take away from today.”

Another 19-year-old, Makenna Hodgson, squeaked into the top-15 with two consistent runs. Hodgson placed 14th with a combined time of 1:17.914.

Russia’s Tatyana Ivanova set the time to beat in each heat to win the gold medal with a time of 1:17.378.

Germany’s Anna Berreiter was second at 1:17.569, while Russia’s Viktoriia Demchenko slid to the bronze medal at 1:17.599.

Competing in her first World Cup race of the season, 2018 Olympian Brooke Apshkrum slid to 16th place at 1:17.975. The youngest member on Canada’s senior squad, 17-year-old Trinity Ellis of Pemberton, B.C., couldn’t find the fast line in her first World Cup race in front of the hometown crowd. Ellis slid to 20th spot at 1:18.095.

Later in the evening, it was the fastest men on ice hitting the start handles at the Whistler Sliding Centre. Local boy, Reid Watts, was the top Canuck in 21st spot with a time of 1:40.507.

“I’m disappointed with this result at home,” said Watts. “The ice was quite soft in training and really fast tonight so it was completely the opposite. It will be good to have the Christmas break here to get back into the gym and hopefully have a better second half of the season.”

Colton Clarke, of Airdrie, Alta., slid to 25th with a time of 1:40.919.

Russia’s Roman Repilov won the Whistler stop in men’s singles with a time of 1:39.713. Germany’s Felix Loch was second. The reigning World Champion posted a time of 1:39.860. Italy’s Dominik Fischnaller stopped the clock at 1:39.884 for the bronze medal.

The Viessmann Luge World Cup continues on Saturday with the doubles race at 12:45 p.m., featuring Canada’s Olympic medallists, Tristan Walker and Justin Snith. Local 16-year-olds, Caitlin Nash and Natalie Corless, will make history on Saturday as the first women ever to slide in a doubles race on the Viessmann Luge World Cup. The Canadian duo won the overall doubles title last year on the Youth A World Cup circuit.

The BMW Sprint World Cup will take place Saturday at 2 p.m. The new race format features the top-15 athletes from each of the three disciplines.

Complete Women’s Singles Results: https://www.fil-luge.org/cdn/uploads/rl2wcwomen-31.pdf

Complete Men’s Singles Results: https://www.fil-luge.org/cdn/uploads/rl2wcmen-35.pdf

The Canadian Luge Association is a not-for-profit organization responsible for governing the sport of luge across the country. With the financial backing of from the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium, the Canadian Luge Association safely recruits and develops the nation’s current and future high-performance luge athletes with the goal of regularly climbing onto the international podium. For more information on the Canadian Luge Association, please visit us at www.luge.ca on the Internet.