CANADIAN MEN SLIDE INTO TOP-20 AT LUGE WORLD CUP IN JAPAN
Calgary Olympians, Jeff Christie and Sam Edney, were the lone Canucks that made the trek across the globe to Japan, and both slid into the top-20.
Coming off one of the best performances of his World Cup career at home last week in Calgary, the 23-year-old Christie finished 17th on the 1998 Olympic Track after clocking a two-run time of one minute 40.564 seconds. The leader of the Canadian squad was sitting in the top-10 after the first run, but fell off the leading pace after a difficult journey down the icy Japanese highway during his second run.
The 22-year-old Edney continued his search for a breakthrough performance on the World Cup. Edney locked up 20th spot in the standings after posting a combined time of 1:40.888 – nearly 1.5 seconds behind the leading mark.
While the two Canucks settled for the top-20, it was the 2006 Olympic champion who made his way to the top step of the podium in Japan. Italy’s Armin Zöggeler captured the gold medal with a time of 1:39.469, edging out Russia’s Albert Demtschenko, who settled for the silver medal (1:39.553). Latvia’s Martins Rubenis made his way to the World Cup podium for the second straight week, finishing third after stopping the clock at 1:39.554.
The Viessmann Luge World Cup continues on Sunday in Japan with the women’s singles and men’s doubles races. Canada’s Regan Lauscher will be looking to build on last week’s fourth-place performance in Calgary, while Chris and Mike Moffat will be gunning to slide onto the podium for the first time in their career.
The Canadian Luge Association is the governing body for luge racing in Canada. 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.
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FOR COMPLETE RESULTS: www.fil-luge.com
Top-5 Men’s Results:
1. Armin Zöggeler, ITA, 1:39.469; 2. Albert Demtschenko, RUS, 1:39.553;
3. Martins Rubenis, LAT; 1:39.554; 4. David Möller, GER, 1:39.555; 5. Reinhold Rainer, ITA, 1:39.761
Canadian Results:
17. Jeff Christie, Calgary, 1:40.564; 20. Sam Edney, Calgary, 1:40.888;
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Chris Dornan Media and Public Relations
Canadian Luge Association
T: 403-247-5423