Sam Edney and Alex Gough Claim National Crowns at Fast Track Capital Canadian Luge Championships

 CALGARY—Sam Edney and Alex Gough will head to Europe to begin the World Cup circuit as the king and queen of Canadian luge after winning the Fast Track Capital Canadian Luge Championships at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary on Saturday morning.

The 27-year-old Edney, who will be counted on to lead the men’s program to the 2014 Olympics, captured his first national title after clocking a two-run time of one minute, 31.742 seconds. The two-time Olympian from Calgary has been strong in training this fall, regularly posting some of the fastest times.

“I wasn’t super happy with my runs, but it was a good test and a great trial race for me today to get ready for what is to come,” said Edney. “I know where I want to be this year, and I’m going to have to take some risks to get there. I’ve had some great training, and have been testing some equipment. I’m excited to get back on the World Cup and see where I stand against the best in the world.”

Edney was joined on the podium by 16-year-old Calgarian, Mitchell Malyk, who posted an impressive second-place result at 1:32.840, while Calgary’s Justin Snith locked up third spot at 1:32.986.

Calgary’s Alex Gough, who had a dream season last year with a World Cup victory and bronze-meda finish at the World Championships, found her way back onto the top of the women’s podium after claiming her fifth national crown. The 24-year-old Gough, who emerged as the leader of the Canadian women’s program three years ago, clocked a two-run time of 1:34.692

“It was a fun day and things went well,” said Gough. “I’ve been testing some new equipment, and it is great to have two good runs and nice to see the new stuff is fast. We have been on the ice for a month now, and I’m anxious to get to Europe on Friday to get things going on the World Cup.”

Gough’s World Cup teammate and fellow Calgarian, 21-year-old Arianne Jones, slid to the silver medal with a time of 1:35.451. Kim McRae, 19, rounded out the women’s podium in third. The Calgarian clocked-in at 1:35.803.

The Canadian Luge Team will depart for Europe on Friday. The opening race on the World Cup calendar is set for Igls, Austria, November 26-27, 2011.

The Fast Track Capital Junior Canadian Championships hit the track in Calgary on Sunday.

The Canadian Luge Association is a not-for-profit organization governing the sport of luge across the country. With the financial backing of its title sponsor, Fast Track Capital, along with the support from the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium, the Canadian Luge Association safely recruits and develops the nation’s current and future high-performance luge athletes with the goal of regularly climbing onto the international podium. For more information on the Canadian Luge Association, please visit us at www.luge.ca on the Internet.

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