Kindberg (ck) The coming weekend eleven nations will compete for the Junior Titles in Kindberg in Styria. In luge everybody who has not had his 20th birthday by the day the Juniors racing season starts counts as a junior. Therefore only Sandra Lanthaler, Champion of 2002, will be allowed to defend her title. She recently started competing in the RED BULL World Cup and finished third in her very first race. Along with her Russias Julia Vetlova will be a contender for the title. She was second behind Lanthaler in the 2002 Championships and proved her good form in last weeks World Cup in Moscow where she finished 3rd.
The mens race should be completely open as none of the medallists of Gsies will be competing. Still reigning Champion Aleksei Lebedev (RUS) had to take one season off to recover from a disease. He started raceing again in the World Cup race in Moscow last week.
In the doubleseaters competition a newly mixed double will be competing: Reigning Junior Champion Harald Laimer (ITA) as well as bronze medallist Alex Innerbichler (ITA) lost their usual partners (Laimer with Michael Graf and Innerbichler with his brother Günther) as they are no longer juniors. So Laimer and Alex Innerbichler will race together.

The track in Kindberg is 950 meters long with an average descent of 13,22%. Twelve curves lead down the way with a difference in altitude of 126 meters. Last year Kindberg hosted a World Cup race.
Kindberg is – next to Umhausen - one of Austrias two national Luge Training Centers.


Participating nations: Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Canada, USA, Switzerland, Bosnia

Results of World Junior Championships 2002 in Gsies (ITA):

Women:
1. Sandra Lanthaler (ITA)
2. Julia Vetlova (RUS)
3. Renate Gietl (ITA)

Men:
1. Aleksei Lebedev (RUS)
2. Florian Breitenberger (ITA)
3. Rudi Resch (ITA)

Doubleseaters:
1. Michael Graf/Harald Laimer (ITA)
2. Pavel Porschnev/Ivan Lazarev (RUS)
3. Günther Innerbichler/Alex Innerbichler (ITA)