TWO CANADIANS CRACK TOP-10 AT JUNIOR LUGE WORLD CUP IN GERMANY
Walker narrowly missed the podium after posting the fastest time of the second heat (46.518). However, nerves got the best of him in the opening run, as the 15-year-old Calgarian hit the wall right out of the start handles. The two runs combined left him just shy of the podium, moving him to fifth place in the final standings.
“I was extremely nervous before the first run,” said the jubilant Walker. “I was really disappointed to be in 12th place after the first run, so I tried to relax and let it go. I gave it 100 per cent in the second heat and it paid off. This is my first World Cup, so now I know that I can compete with the best.”
Teammate Stefan Rath was not far behind. Coming off strong performances from last year’s Junior World Cup circuit, the 16-year-old is poised to slide towards the podium in his sophomore season with the national squad.
“I was really happy with my first run,” said Rath. “I was a bit stiff in the second heat, and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to put two great runs together. We get to race here again on Saturday, and I feel really confident that I can fix my mistakes and improve on this result.”
Germany’s Kevin Weihs stood on top of the podium in youth A men’s with a two-run time of 1:33.729. Russia’s Georgi Talypov won the silver with a time of 1:33.737, and the Americans grabbed their second bronze medal of the day when Robert Huerbin crossed the line with a time of 1:33.819.
It was Austria’s day to shine as the usually dominant German team was shut out of the medals in the junior men’s division. Austria’s Manuel Pfister was first at 1:53.450, while teammate Wolfgang Kindi took the silver with a time of 1:53.515. American Christopher Mazdzer was third (1:53.876). The top Canadian on the day was 17-year-old Cameron Gunn, who finished in 11th place (1:55.218).
The Junior Luge World Cup continues in Winterberg, Germany on Friday with the women’s singles and doubles competition.
The Canadian Luge Association 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 Results: www.fil-luge.com
Men’s Top-Five Results:
1.Manuel Pfister, AUT, 1:53.450; 2. Wolfgang Kindi, AUT, 1:53.515; 3. Christopher Mazdzer, USA, 1:53.876; 4. Peter Fischer, GER, 1:53.926; 5. Gregory Carigiet, SUI, 1:54.516.
Canadian Results:
11. Cameron Gunn, Calgary, 1:55.218
Men’s Youth A Top-Five Results
1. Kevin Weihs, GER, 1:33.729; 2. Georgi Talypov, RUS, 1:33.737; 3. Robert Huerbin, USA, 1:33.819; 4. Achim Brunner, ITA, 1:33.856; 5. Tristan Walker, CAN, 1:33.881
Other Canadian Results:
7. Stefan Rath, Calgary, 1:33.955
17. David Adair, Calgary, 1:34.624
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Chris Dornan
Media and Public Relations
Canadian Luge Association
T: 403-470-9546