Canada's Regan Lauscher Slides Into Ninth At Luge World Championships
-Canada's Albrecht and Pothier narrowly miss
The 24-year-old veteran of the Canadian team shattered last season's world championship result of 14th place when she slid into ninth position with a two-run combined time of one minute 28.955 seconds.
"Even though I had a personal best world championship result, I was really looking for a top-eight finish," said Lauscher, who finished eighth in overall World Cup points this 2004-05 season. "I had a lot of expectations coming into this race and it is disappointing to finish just out of where I wanted to be."
Overall, the 2002 Olympian from Red Deer, Alta., has experienced an extremely successful campaign during this pre-Olympic season, taking home her first silver medal and earning Canada's best-ever luge result at a World Cup in Lake Placid, this past December.
"I have experienced a great year and am quite happy with my performance, " said Lauscher. "I am definitely learning how to race under pressure, which is invaluable heading into next year."
Germany dominated the podium in the women's event, with Sylke Otto leading her teammates to capture the top spot for the gold medal with a time of 1:28.056. Barbara Niedernhuber slid down the track into second to take the silver medal at 1:28.284, while Anke Wischnewski followed in third for the bronze medal with 1:28.366.
Calgary's Meaghan Simister was the next best Canadian in Friday night's race. The 18-year-old slid into 22nd place after posting a combined time of 1:29.929. Madison Dupuis, 17, finished in 28th spot at 1:31.572, while 17-year-old Alex Gough, who finished in fifth on the junior World Cup circuit, ended the race in 30th position at 1:34.723.
Canada's Grant Albrecht and Eric Pothier narrowly missed a top-10 finish, as they flew down the track into 11th spot, with a two-run combined time of one minute 28.812 seconds.
Albrecht, of Red Deer, Alta., and Pothier, of Airdrie, Alta., who finished eighth in overall World Cup points, were looking for a top-10 result heading into tonight's event.
"I'm pretty disappointed that we fell out of the top-10," said Pothier, who, along with Albrecht, finished eighth in overall World Cup points. "This is pretty much our second home track and I had thought we had two relatively clean runs, but I guess the speed was just not there."
Germany grabbed the two top spots on Friday, with Andre Florschütz and Torsten Wustlich flying down the track to take home the gold medal with a time of 1:28.091. Teammate's Patrick Leitner and Alexandre Resch followed close behind in the extremely tight race, to grab the silver medal at 1:28.103, while Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin of the United States rounded out third to take the bronze medal with 1:28.215.
Canada's Gwyn Lewis, 22, and Sam Edney, 18, both of Calgary, finished the race in 17th place, sliding across the track for a two-run combined time of 1:29.778.
The 2005 Luge World Championships continues on Saturday, with men's single competition.
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
Top-Five Women's Results (32 sleds):
1. Sylke Otto, GER, 1:28.056, 2. Barbara Niedernhuber, GER, 1:28.284; 3. Anke Wischnewski, GER, 1:28.366; 4. Ashley Hayden, USA, 1:28.499; 5. Natalia Yakushenko, UKR, 1:28.696.
Canadian Results (32 Sleds):
9. Regan Lauscher, Red Deer, Alta., 1:28.955; 22. Meaghan Simister, Calgary, 1:29.929; 28. Madison Dupuis, Calgary, 1:31.572; 30. Alex Gough, Calgary, 1:34.723.
Top-Five Men's Doubles Results (19 sleds):
1. Florschüz/Wustlich, GER, 1:28.091; 2. Leitner/Resch, GER, 1:28.103; 3. Grimmette/Martin, USA, 1:28.215; 4. Oberstolz/Gruber, ITA, 1:28.282; 5. Plankensteiner/Haselrieder, ITA, 1:28.363.
Canadian Results (19 sleds):
11. Grant Albrecht, Red Deer, Alta., and Eric Pothier, Airdrie, Alta., 1:28.812; 17. Sam Edney, Calgary, and Gwyn Lewis, Calgary, 1:29.778.