Canada's Jeff Christie Slides Into Top-15 at Viessmann Luge World Cup
-Canada's Regan Lauscher posts a disappointi
The 21-year-old Vancouver native, who is experiencing his best season ever on the World Cup circuit, finished today's race with a two-run combined time of one minute 30.008 seconds. Christie clocked runs of 45.010 and 44.998 respectively.
"I am very, very pleased with the way I performed," said Christie, who until today had never placed higher than 30th on the technically demanding Oberhof track. "I haven't had success at this track before so I wasn't expecting anything huge. To place 13th for the second time this season, I am just thrilled."
Russia's Albert Demtschenko, who is currently first in overall World Cup standings, claimed his second gold medal win of the season posting a two-run time of 1:29:231. Germany's David Möller, who was bumped from the top of the podium after two consecutive wins, settled for the silver medal at 1:29:249, while teammate Georg Hackl rounded out third (1:29:389).
Calgary's Sam Edney, who was the only other Canuck to compete in today's men's singles race, posted his best result of the season to finish in 21st spot. The 20-year-old clocked a combined time of 1:30.534.
Proving their continued dominance on the World Cup stage, the German women swept the podium with Barbara Niedernhuber claiming gold at 1:23:737. Teammate Sylke Otto followed in second place to take the silver medal at 1:23:755, while Silke Kraushaar rounded out third (1:23:793). Calgary's Meaghan Simister posted Canada's top result in women's singles racing finishing in 15th spot at 1:25:703.
Meanwhile, Canadian team veteran Regan Lauscher suffered a disappointing setback during her history-making season, finishing today's race in 16th place. The 24-year-old Red Deer, Alta., native, who became the first Canadian luge athlete to win a silver medal in the 28-year history of the luge World Cup, finished the race with a time of 1:25:715.
"This is a big disappointment for me, especially with the momentum that I have been building so far this season," said Lauscher. "I had every opportunity to do well and for me to slide how I did is just extremely frustrating. I have to learn from what happened here today and move on from it."
The Viessmann Luge World Cup will continue in Konigssee, Germany, January 5-6.
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.
COMPLETE TEAM RESULTS: www.fil-luge.org
Men's Singles Top-Five Results:
1. Albert Demtschenko, RUS, 1:29:231; 2. David Möller, GER, 1:29:249; 3. Georg Hackl, GER, 1:29:389; 4. Armin Zöggeler, ITA, 1:29:400; 5. Jan Eichhorn, GER, 1:29:431.
Canadian Results:
13. Jeff Christie, Vancouver, CAN, 1:30:008; 21. Sam Edney, Calgary, CAN, 1:30:534.
Women's Singles Top-Five Results:
1. Barbara Niedernhuber, GER, 1:23:737; 2. Sylke Otto, GER, 1:23:755; 3. Silke Kraushaar, GER, 1:23:793; 4. Tatjana Hufner, GER, 1:24:494.
Canadian Results:
15. Meaghan Simister, Calgary, CAN, 1:25:703; 16. Regan Lauscher, Red Deer, Alta., CAN, 1:25:715.