Canadian Luge Teens Share Podium at Junior World Cup on 2030 Olympic Track
LA PLAGNE, Fra.—Two Calgary teenagers – Dylan Morse and Theo Downey – celebrated a double-medal day for the Canadian Luge Team at the Junior World Cup in La Plagne, France on Saturday.
Morse slid to his first international podium in Europe, taking the silver medal while his teammate Theo Downey finished just four-hundredths of a second behind him on the bronze-medal step of the podium on the La Plagne, France track that will host the 2030 Olympic race.
The 19-year-old posted the second-fastest run in his first blast down the icy chute and held his position in the final heat for a two-run time of 1:31.708.
“That race was so much fun. It feels great to be fighting for those top spots, and to finish it on the podium makes it that much sweeter,” said Morse. “I’ve been working on my race routine, and it paid off today. Sliding here in La Plagne has overall been a great experience.”
Theo Downey, who just turned 19, was hungry for his first international win after a second-place finish in the opening race of the season on Thursday but came up just short of his goal. Downey clocked a two-run time of 1:31.742 to secure the final spot on the men’s singles podium.
“Even though I didn’t quite reach the gold that I was looking for, I’m still really happy with how I performed today,” said Downey. “Both of my runs could have been better, but that’s the name of the game. There’s always room for improvement but finishing on two podiums in one weekend feels fantastic.”
Italy’s Leon Haselrieder edged out the Canucks for the victory. Haselrieder stopped the clock at 1:31.551.
Canada’s Bastian Van Wouw (Calgary) placed 16th.
Both Morse and Downey regularly compete on the World Cup circuit despite their young age, but gaining additional runs on the 2030 Olympic Track was critical as the organization puts its focus on building Canada’s next generation of elite luge athletes over the next five years.
“Being successful at the junior level is exceptionally important to me. It doesn’t receive nearly as much attention or coverage as the senior level, but that extra time to get additional runs on each track is absolutely essential for when I eventually transition to competing exclusively at the senior level because then I’ll have the experience and will be hopefully winning medals.”
The future looks bright for the young Canucks who leave La Plagne with a bag full of medals. On Thursday, Downey’s silver medal was also celebrated with Embyr-Lee Susko snagging a bronze of her own.
Complete Results Junior World Cup La Plagne
Canadian Men’s Doubles Team Slide to 13th on World Cup
Canada’s luge tandem of Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajanski finished 13th for the second straight week in men’s doubles sliding on the World Cup.
The Calgary-based sliders, who qualified fourth in the Nation’s Cup on Friday, clocked a two-run time of 1:33.936 in Igls, Austria.
Latvia’s Martins Bots and Roberts Plume won the gold with a time of 1:32.393.
A trio of Canadian women also earned spots in the singles race.
Caitlin Nash, of Whistler, B.C., was the lone Canuck to earn a second run with the fastest 20 athletes after the first heat. Nash placed 19th at 1:34.010.
Trinity Ellis (Pemberton, B.C.) was 21st and Carolyn Maxwell (Calgary) 23rd.
Austria’s Madeleine Egle slid into the winner’s circle with a time of 1:32.484.
Complete Results from the Luge World Cup Igls
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.