Canada’s Veterans Albrecht and Pothier Back in the Top-10 With Youngsters Edney and Lewis to Keep them Company
-Me
Grant Albrecht, of Red Deer, Alta., and Eric Pothier, of Airdrie, Alta., were the fastest Canadians of the day, laying down two solid runs and posting a combined time of 1:30.000, good enough for eighth place. Not far behind, in 10th place, were two teenagers from Calgary, 19-year-old Sam Edney, and 17-year-old Gwyn Lewis.
"The top-10 at Winterberg are always tight because of the way the track slides, all it took was one small mistake and it dropped us down to eighth," said Albrecht, who's doubles team matched their best result of the World Cup season. "The good news for Eric (Pothier) and I, is that we know if we can erase those little mistakes, we can be on the podium with the best in the world."
Two German teams took advantage of the home ice conditions to win gold and silver in the men's doubles race. First spot on the podium went to André Florschütz and Torsten Wustlich, in a time of 1:29.119. They were followed in second place by teammates Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch (1:29.306), while an Italian team stepped in to prevent a German podium sweep. Gerhard Plankensteiner and Oswald Haselrieder finished third with a two-run time of 1:29.307.
On the women's side, two Canadian sleds also posted solid results. Regina's Meaghan Simister had the two fastest starts of the day and finished with another career best, with an 11th place result. The 17-year-old has been showing great improvements in her first season dedicated to the senior World Cup circuit. Red Deer, Alta. native Regan Lauscher was the other woman wearing the maple leaf today, and finished just back of her teammates time, to end the day in 12th place.
"Overall things went really well today. Good start, fast ice and no major mistakes - makes for a good result," said Simister, who has already surpassed her goal of finishing consistently in the top-15 this season. "I'm ahead of where I thought I would be this year, but I just have to keep progressing and trying to gain ground on the women ahead of me."
Once again, the German women were dominant on their home track, sweeping all three medal positions on the podium. The world's top-ranked woman, Sylke Otto had the fastest time of the day (1:29.119) and captured the gold medal. Silver went to Silke Kraushaar in 1:29.306, and the final podium spot was awarded to Barbara Niedernhuber (1:30.234).
The Canadian team will travel to the track at Igls, Austria, for the next stop on the Viessmann Luge World Cup, January 24-25, 2004.
MEN'S DOUBLES RESULTS:
| Rank | Country | Name | Time |
| 1 | Germany | Florschütz/Wustlich | 1:29.119 |
| 2 | Germany | Leitner/Resch | 1:29.306 |
| 3 | Italy | Plankensteiner/Haselrieder | 1:29.307 |
| 4 | Austria | Schiegl/Schiegl | 1:29.399 |
| 5 | Italy | Oberstolz/Gruber | 1:29.522 |
| 6 | USA | Niccum/Myles | 1:29.675 |
| 7 | Germany | Skel/Wöller | 1:29.904 |
| 8 | Canada | Albrecht/Pothier | 1:30.000 |
| 9 | Austria | Linger/Linger | 1:30.024 |
| 10 | Canada | Edney/Lewis | 1:30.425 |
WOMEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:
| Rank | Country | Name | Time |
| 1 | Germany | Sylke Otto | 1:29.643 |
| 2 | Germany | Silke Kraushaar | 1:29.758 |
| 3 | Germany | Barbara Niedernhuber | 1:30.234 |
| 4 | Latvia | Anna Orlova | 1:30.316 |
| 5 | Austria | Sonja Manzenreiter | 1:30.426 |
| 6 | Ukraine | Liliya Ludan | 1:30.617 |
| 7 | Switzerland | Martina Kocher | 1:30.633 |
| 8 | Austria | Veronika Halder | 1:30.652 |
| 9 | USA | Ashley Hayden | 1:30.664 |
| 10 | Austria | Nina Reithmeyer | 1:30.679 |
| 11 | Canada | Meaghan Simister | 1:30.727 |
| 12 | Canada | Regan Lauscher | 1:30.750 |
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.