Canada Kicks Off Luge World Championships with Seventh-Place Finish in Team Event
-Germany retains fourth consecut
The team event combines three single-run times from each of the luge disciplines - men's singles, men's doubles and women's singles. Wearing the maple leaf today was Vancouver's Jeff Christie, Grant Albrecht of Red Deer, Alta., Eric Pothier of Airdrie, Alta., and Regan Lauscher of Red Deer, Alta. The team posted a combined time of 2:30.274, good enough for seventh place.
"Overall the team performed well against some tough competition on the first day, although there was definitely room for improvement," said Walter Corey, head coach, Canadian Luge Team. "We'll use this race to identify the mistakes made on the track and work to eliminate them, and to improve times in the individual events."
The winner of the team competition, on the 1998 Olympic Track, was Germany, with a time of 2:28.711. It marks the fourth consecutive title for the luge powerhouse at the World Championships. The silver medal went to the United States after posting a time of 2:29.169, and the bronze medal was claimed by Italy with a time of 2:29.415
The Luge World Championships will continue Saturday in Nagano with the men's doubles and women's singles events. Competing for Canada in the men's doubles are veterans Grant Albrecht and Eric Pothier, and the young Calgary team of Sam Edney and Gwyn Lewis, who are coming off a silver medal performance at the Junior Luge World Championships in Calgary. The women's race will be run by Regan Lauscher and Regina's Meaghan Simister.
COMPLETE TEAM RESULTS:
| Rank | Country | Time |
| 1 | Germany | 2:28.711 |
| 2 | United States | 2:29.169 |
| 3 | Italy | 2:29.415 |
| 4 | Austria | 2:29.528 |
| 5 | Slovakia | 2:29.676 |
| 6 | Latvia | 2:30.232 |
| 7 | Canada | 2:30.274 |
| 8 | Russia | 2:30.781 |
| 9 | Sweden | 2:32.255 |
| 10 | Japan | 2:33.127 |
| 11 | Romania | 2:33.695 |
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.