Tristan Walker and Justin Snith Slide into 13th at Luge World Championships

Feb 10, 2012

Canadian duo win silver medal in Under-23 division

ALTENBERG, Ger.—The Canadian Luge Team kicked off the 2012 World Championships with a 13th-place finish in Altenberg, Germany on Friday.

Two of the youngest athletes on the elite circuit, Canada’s 20-year-old Canucks Tristan Walker and Justin Snith joined forces to grab a spot in the elite 15 after posting a time of 1:24.495.

“The guys were a little crooked on the start in both runs and that cost us today,” said Wolfgang Staudinger, head coach, Canadian Luge Team. “They are still young and will continue to get experience. We need to be patient but keep working hard.”

Austria’s Andreas Linger and Wolgang Linger grabbed the world title with a time of 1:23.444. Germany’s Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken slid to the silver medal position on the podium with a time of 1:23.664. Germany’s Peter Penz and George Fischler locked up the bronze (1:23.676).

The performance of the two young Canucks was good enough to earn them the silver medal in the Under-23 class which was awarded in conjunction with the World Cup race.

The Luge World Championships continue on Saturday with men’s singles.

The Canadian Luge Association is a not-for-profit organization responsible for 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.

COMPLETE RESULTS: www.fil-luge.org

Doubles Top-Five and Canadian Results:
1. Andreas Linger/Wolfgang Linger, AUT, 1:23.444; 2. Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken, GER,1:23.664; 3. Peter Penz/George Fischler, GER, 1:23.676; 4. Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt, GER, 1:23.683; 5. Vladislav Yuzhakov/Vladimir Makhnutin, RUS, 1:23.773

Canadian Results:

13. Tristan Walker, Cochrane, Alta./Justin Snith, Calgary, 1:24.495