Top Luge Athletes Crowned at Canadian Championships
-Dupuis and Christie win first titles, Albrecht and Pothier re
Calgary's Madison Dupuis, who was the youngest athlete competing on the World Cup circuit this year, managed to overtake two charging youngsters and Regan Lauscher of Red Deer, Alta., who is the veteran of the women's team, for top spot on the podium. The victory is the first of Dupuis' young career in the sport.
"I couldn't ask for a better way to end the season. I had two very good runs, and I had two of my best times today," said the 17 year old, who posted a time of 1:35.101. "This had been my best season ever and with it getting closer to the Olympics, it is just great to gain more experience on the World Cup and compete with the best in the sport."
Calgary's Jeff Christie, who has led the Canadian squad in men's singles throughout the season, won his first national senior men's title with a two-run combined time of 1:30.287.
"It feels really good to come out on top," said Christie who crashed at last year's Canadian championships. "It's nice to take home the Canadian title after leading the team throughout the World Cup season. I'm happy with my overall performance this year. My goal is always to improve and I improved in my overall World Cup ranking, and at the world championships, so it has been a rather successful season."
Finally, long-time veterans Grant Albrecht of Red Deer, Alta., and Eric Pothier of Airdrie, Alta., reclaimed the national title in men's doubles. The Canadian duo posted a combined time of 1:28.840 to hold off World Cup rookies, Sam Edney and Gwyn Lewis.
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.
RESULTS:
Men's (17 sleds)
1. Jeff Christie 1:30.287
2. Jorgen Krause 1:30.733
3. Sam Edney 1:31.139
4. Grant Albrecht 1:31.405
5. Mike Jepson 1:31.478
Women's (8 sleds)
1. Madison Dupuis 1:35.101
2. Amanda Byrne 1:35.246
3. Alex Gough 1:35.291
4. Regan Lauscher 1:36.068
5. Monica Gorham 1:36.580
Doubles (6 sleds)
1. Grant Albrecht and Eric Pothier 1:28.840
2. Sam Edney and Gwyn Lewis 1:28.887
3. Marshall Savill, Aaron Christensen 1:29.318
4. Chris Moffat and Mike Moffat 1:30.568
5. Cameron Gunn and David Adair 1:31.784
6. Bob Gasper and Stefan Rath 1:32.064
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
| Chris Dornan CODA, Communications Specialist T: 403-247-5423 C: 403-585-0254 | Tim Farstad Program Coordinator Olympic Luge Training Centre T: 403-247-9884 |