Canadian Men and Women Fight Their Way Down Bumpy Lake Placid Track in Icy Temperatures
-Meaghan Simister best-eve
Canada's best result of the day came from 23-year-old Regan Lauscher, of Red Deer, Alta., who finished in 9th place, with a combined time of 1:30.875. Calgary's Monica Gorham, ran into some difficulties on the challenging World Cup stop and did not finish her first run.
Canada's Jeff Christie, of Calgary, was pre-qualified after last week's results, to compete in the men's singles race, along with the top-30 lugers in the world. He ended the day in 19th spot, Sam Edney, of Calgary, was the only other Canadian competing in the men's race, and finished 21st (1:49.356).
Italy's Armin Zöggeler returned to the top spot on the men's podium after winning the season's first two races. Zöggeler blazed down the track in his opening run setting a new track record in 53.554 seconds. The 29-year-old finished the day with a total time of 1:47.275. The silver medal went to luge legend Georg Hackl, of Germany, (1:47.747), while Hackl's young teammate, David Möller, (1:48.117) took third.
Two German women, Silke Kraushaar and Sylke Otto have been trading wins back and forth since the start of the season, and Friday was no exception. Kraushaar came out on top today, leading a German sweep of the podium after posting a time of 1:29.828. Sylke Otto was next in second place in 1:29.886, while the final podium spot went to Germany's Barbara Niedernhuber, who kept pace with the frontrunners in a time of 1:30.097. Today's victory marks the 77th consecutive women's World Cup luge race won by a German athlete.
This fifth stop of the Viessmann Luge World Cup continues on Saturday in Lake Placid with the men's doubles event. The Canadian squad will be led by Grant Albrecht, of Red Deer, Alta., and Eric Pothier, of Airdrie, Alta., who are currently ranked ninth in the world. Two other men's doubles teams qualified this morning for Saturday's two-run race. Marshall Savill and Winston Davis, along with Sam Edney with Gwyn Lewis, all of whom are from Calgary, will don Canadian colours on the weekend.
MEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:
| Rank | Country | Name | Time |
| 1 | Italy | Armin Zöggeler | 1:47.275 |
| 2 | Germany | Georg Hackl | 1:47.747 |
| 3 | Germany | David Möller | 1:48.117 |
| 4 | USA | Tony Benshoof | 1:48.329 |
| 5 | Austria | Markus Kleinheinz | 1:48.491 |
| 6 | Slovakia | Jaroslav Slavik | 1:48.520 |
| 7 | Italy | Reinhold Rainer | 1:48.674 |
| 8 | Austria | Rainer Margreiter | 1:48.681 |
| 9 | Germany | Dennis Geppert | 1:48.721 |
| 10 | Russia | Albert Demtschenko | 1:48.814 |
| 10 | Italy | Wilfried Huber | 1:48.814 |
| 19 | Canada | Jeff Christie | 1:49.332 |
| 21 | Canada | Sam Edney | 1:49.356 |
WOMEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:
| Rank | Country | Name | Time |
| 1 | Germany | Sylke Otto | 1:29.828 |
| 2 | Germany | Silke Kraushaar | 1:29.886 |
| 3 | Germany | Barbara Niedernhuber | 1:30.097 |
| 4 | Austria | Veronika Halder | 1:30.556 |
| 5 | Germany | Anke Wischnewski | 1:30.572 |
| 6 | Austria | Sonja Manzenreiter | 1:30.747 |
| 7 | Italy | Anastasia Oberstolz | 1:30.758 |
| 8 | USA | Courtney Zablocki | 1:30.851 |
| 9 | Canada | Regan Lauscher | 1:30.875 |
| 10 | USA | Brenna Margol | 1:31.054 |
| 14 | Canada | Meaghan Simister | 1:31.300 |
| DNF | Canada | Monica Gorham | DNF |
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.