Canada's Young Luge Team Takes Stride Forward at Luge World Championships
-Jeff Christie leads three men into top-
The Vancouver native earned his best result at a World Championship, finishing the season with a 16th-place finish, in a time of 1:40.286, on the 1998 Olympic Track.
"I'm happy with my result today, when I look back over the season, its definitely a step forward for me. I was close to hitting the top-15, and it was a few mistakes at the top of my second run that cost me some time," said Christie, who at 21-years-old, has completed his first season dedicated to the senior World Cup. "I've now had the experience on every track in the world and with some more consistency I can really start to climb up the standings."
Three more athletes from Calgary, who had just competed at the Junior Luge World Championships, joined Christie in today's event. Ian Cockerline, was 19th down the track, in a time of 1:40.682. Sam Edney and Gwyn Lewis, who are used to competing in the men's doubles event, finished 25th (1:41.115) and 35th (1:43.378) respectively.
"I think this team has a lot to be proud of, this is a positive way to end the season," said Cockerline, who was sliding in his first ever senior World Championship. "For me, not only do I know there is room for improvement, but I can see where that time is on the track and will work to get faster."
The newly crowned World Champion in the men's singles event is Germany's David Möller, who at the age of 22, upset the two favourites two win today's race, in a time of 1:39.150. One of those men was his teammate and five-time Olympian Georg Hackl, who has won more World Cup races than any luge athlete in history. Hackl used that experience to capture the silver medal, with a two-run time of 1:39.158. There was another surprise face on the podium, as Latvia's Martins Rubenis, who has never finished in the top-10 in a World Cup event, had the race of his life, to finish the season with a bronze medal in 1:39.347.
This season marks a successful campaign for the Canadian squad, which is the youngest team in the world.
"Were definitely on the right track to making this young team one of the best luge teams in the world," said Walter Corey, who has completed his first season as head coach, Canadian Luge Team. "We've seen some impressive senior results from athletes who are among the best at their age. It is an exciting time for this program."
Complete Results: www.fil-luge.org
MEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:
| Rank | Country | Name | Time |
| 1 | Germany | David Möller | 1:39.150 |
| 2 | Germany | Georg Hackl | 1:39.158 |
| 3 | Latvia | Martins Rubenis | 1:39.347 |
| 4 | Italy | Armin Zöggeler | 1:39.455 |
| 5 | Austria | Rainer Margreiter | 1:39.646 |
| 6 | Italy | Reinhold Rainer | 1:39.721 |
| 7 | Germany | Jan Eichhorn | 1:39.762 |
| 8 | Italy | Wilfired Huber | 1:39.773 |
| 9 | United States | Tony Benshoof | 1:39.776 |
| 10 | Germany | Dennis Geppert | 1:39.780 |
| 16 | Canada | Jeff Christie | 1:40.286 |
| 19 | Canada | Ian Cockerline | 1:40.682 |
| 25 | Canada | Sam Edney | 1:41.115 |
| 35 | Canada | Gwyn Lewis | 1:43.378 |
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.