Canadian Duo Finishes Fifth in Men's Doubles at Viessmann Luge World Cup in Calgary
-German women make it 52 strai
The Canadian duo, who finished fourth on the same track two years ago, threatened for their first World Cup podium after posting a two-run combined time of one minute 29.013 seconds in warm conditions rolling through the Calgary foothills.
"We wish it would have been a lot colder than it was this evening as that would have given us an extra advantage," said Albrecht of Red Deer, Alta., who along with Pothier, have been tinkering with their sled for most of the year to make them faster. "We are sliding well, we just need to keep working hard and hopefully it will all come together."
Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin of the United States, who got their start in the sport on the Calgary track, slid to their first gold-medal performance of the season in men's doubles action. The American duo posted a two-run time of 1:28.332. Germany's Andre Florschütz and Torsten Wustlich took home the silver medal with a time of 1:28.628, while fellow-German sliders, Sebastian Schmidt and Andre Forker rounded out the top-three at 1:28.691.
Sam Edney and Gwyn Lewis teamed up to form the only other Canadian sled entered in the men's doubles field. The two Calgarians, who are rookies on the World Cup this year, finished 12th with a time of 1:29.751.
Meanwhile, in women's action, Canada's Regan Lauscher was unable to capitalize on the momentum built from her historic silver-medal race last weekend in Lake Placid, N.Y. The 24-year-old Red Deer, Alta. native, who is currently ranked fifth in the world, had technical problems with her sled and a slip at the start, resulting in a disappointing eighth-place finish (1:35.142).
"I don't hop on my sled to finish eighth and I'm not happy with that result," said the seven-year veteran of the Canadian squad, the youngest luge team in the world. "Its been a tough week, and I had some nerves, but I felt ready and just told myself to relax. I had a taste of the podium, and I'm going to keep on fighting to get back there.
The German women extended their gold-medal winning streak to 52 and swept the podium in Calgary. Barbara Niedernhuber captured her second consecutive victory in as many weeks after blasting down the fast Canada Olympic Park track in a combined time of 1:34.169. Niedernhuber's teammate, Sylke Otto, who has five World Cup victories in Canada, finished second at 1:34.265. Silke Kraushaar completed the podium sweep for Germany with a time of 1:34.457.
Two other women suited up for Canada in women's singles. Madison Dupuis of Calgary, who is the youngest athletes on the elite international circuit, posted her best-ever World Cup finish after sliding into 11th spot (1:35.322). Calgary's Meaghan Simister had a disappointing result, finishing 20th (1:37.352) in the 23-sled race.
The Viessmann Luge World Cup continues on Saturday in Calgary with the men's singles race at 2 p.m. and team relay competition at 5:30 p.m.
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.
COMPLETE TEAM RESULTS: www.fil-luge.org
Women's Singles Top-Five and Canadian Results:
1.Barbara Niedernhuber, GER, 1:34.169; 2. Sylke Otto, GER, 1:34.265; 3. Silke Kraushaar, GER, 1:34.457; 4. Anna Oberstolz-Antonova, ITA, 1:34.615; 5. Anke Wischnewski, GER, 1:34.615.
Other Canadian Women Results:
8. Regan Lauscher, Red Deer, Alta., 1:35.142; 11. Madison Dupuis, Calgary, 1:35.322; 20. Meaghan Simister, Regina, 1:37.352.
Men's Top-Five Doubles and Canadian Results:
1.Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin, USA, 1:28.332; 2. Andre Florschütz and Torsten Wustlich, GER, 1:28.628; 3. Sebastian Schmidt and Andre Forker, GER, 1:28.691; 4. Christian Oberstolz and Patrick Grubar, ITA, 1:28.815; 5. Grant Albrecht, Red Deer, Alta. and Eric Pothier, Airdrie, Alta., CAN, 1:29.013.
Other Canadian Results:
12. Sam Edney, Calgary and Gwyn Lewis, Calgary, CAN, 1:29.751