Canada's Meaghan Simister Posts a Best-Ever Result on the Senior World Cup Tour
-German sliders dominate their hom
The 17-year-old from Regina is the youngest competitor in her field and finished in 15th place out of 22 athletes with a strong two-run time of 1:50.270. Simister qualified for today's race on Friday, beating out another 25 women vying for a World Cup qualifying spot.
"I feel good after my performance today. I have a new focus this year that's starting to pay off now that I'm racing," said Simister, who put down two solid runs in a sport that demands consistency. "I'm getting better with every event and at the same time I know I have lots of room to improve. My goal is to get into a qualifying position and be ready for the Olympics in 2006."
The German women's team swept the podium with Silke Kraushaar posting the fastest time of 1:49.333. Kraushaar's teammates Sylke Otto and Barbara Niedernhuber followed in second and third, with times of 1:49.465 and 1:49.471 respectively.
Canada's men's luge team continued the 2003-04 season by qualifying the most Canadian men's doubles teams in a European event in more than four years.
The contingent was led by veterans Grant Albrecht of Red Deer, Alta. and Eric Pothier of Airdrie, Alta. They finished the two-run race in 12th place in a time of 1:26.881, followed in 13th place by fellow Canadians Marshall Savill and Winston Davis, both of Calgary. The third Canadian duo that qualified for the race, did not finish. Sam Edney of Calgary, is recovering from a fractured bone in his hand, which slowed him down along with fellow rider Gwyn Lewis, also of Calgary.
"These are some of the most technical tracks in the world and I'm happy with how our team performed today," said Walter Corey, Canada's new head coach. "Sam (Edney) is really fighting just to be in these races and the rest of men continue to improve as we look towards competing at home in two weeks."
The Austrian team of Andreas and Wolfgang Linger continued their early success in the 2003-04 season repeating their gold medal result from Latvia, capturing first place in men's doubles action at Altenberg. Linger and Linger posted the fastest two-run time of the day at 1:25.346, while German teams finished second and third. Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch finished in 1:25.436 followed closely by teammates André Florschütz and Torsten Wustlich in 1:25.448.
The Viessmann Luge World Cup continues on Sunday in Altenberg with the men's singles event. Matt McMurray will be sliding in Canadian colours. McMurray, who is making his debut at a senior World Cup event, placed first at the Junior North American Championships last year. He qualified after a 12th place finish in Friday's qualifying run.
Canada's Jeff Christie will not compete on Sunday after suffering a crash in the bottom portion of the Altenberg track. Christie, who was leading all interval times during the qualifying run, did not sustain any serious injuries.
MEN'S DOUBLES RESULTS
| Rank | Country | Name | Time |
| 1 | Austria | Linger/Linger | 1:25.346 |
| 2 | Germany | Leitner/Resch | 1:25.436 |
| 3 | Germany | Florschutz/Wustlich | 1:25.448 |
| 4 | Italy | Oberstolz/Gruber | 1:25.479 |
| 5 | Germany | Schmidt/Forker | 1:25.532 |
| 6 | Austria | Schiegl/Schiegl | 1:25.583 |
| 7 | Italy | Plankensteiner/Haselrieder | 1:25.657 |
| 8 | USA | Niccum/Wohlleb | 1:26.249 |
| 9 | Slovakia | Mick/Marx | 1:26.322 |
| 10 | Russia | Kuzmitch/Veselov | 1:26.546 |
| 12 | Canada | Albrecht/Pothier | 1:26.881 |
| 14 | Canada | Savill/Davis | 1:29.089 |
| DNF | Canada | Edney/Lewis | N/A |
WOMEN'S FINAL RESULTS
| Rank | Country | Name | Time |
| 1 | Germany | Silke Kraushaar | 1:49.333 |
| 2 | Germany | Sylke Otto | 1:49.456 |
| 3 | Germany | Barbara Niedernhuber | 1:49.471 |
| 4 | Germany | Anke Wischnewski | 1:49.480 |
| 5 | Austria | Sonia Manzenreiter | 1:49.583 |
| 6 | Austria | Nina Reithmeyer | 1:49.687 |
| 7 | Ukraine | Liliya Ludan | 1:49.720 |
| 8 | Lativia | Anna Orlova | 1:49.838 |
| 9 | Ukraine | Natalia Yakushenko | 1:49.841 |
| 10 | Italy | Anastasia Oberstolz | 1:49.867 |
| 15 | Canada | Meaghan Simister | 1:50.270 |
The Canadian Luge Associaton is the governing body for luge racing in Canada. In partnership with CODA, the Canadian Luge Association operates the Olympic Luge Training Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, which develops our nation's high-performance luge athletes and promotes the sport across the country. For more information on the Canadian Luge Association, please visit us at www.luge.ca on the Internet.