Altenberg (pps) With a whiff of price Silke Kraushaar-Pielach used to proclaim that she has won every title in the sport of luge. But this is not quite true: The 1998 Olympic and 2004 World champion as well as three-time European champion and four-time winner of the overall World Cup rankings has not yet managed to capture the overall SUZUKI Challenge Cup rankings. But the 36- year-old intends to fill in this gap in the current post-Olympic season.

After the first two events of the series, Silke Kraushaar-Pielach boasts 170 points on the overall rankings, putting her in the lead. And her chances to gain the title are quite good since Sylke Otto – with six overall and 19 individual victories the previous “queen” of the SUZUKI Challenge Cup – has retired due to her pregnancy. Kraushaar-Pielach laid the foundation to win the title last weekend, managing her sixth Challenge Cup victory in the second of the altogether four events.

Winners of the SUZUKI Challenge Cup event in Oberhof were Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler in the men’s single as well as his team-mates Christian Oberstolz-Patrick Gruber in the double-seater. Zoeggeler managed his seventh victory, defending champions Oberstolz-Gruber achieved their fourth success.