Anna Berreiter wins European Championship gold in Sigulda

Sigulda (FIL/15 Jan 2023) With a double success at the 5th EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup the German women bid farewell from Sigulda. Anna Berreiter wins her first European Championship gold and the overall 4th World Cup victory of her career. With an overall time of 1:24,600 the Olympic silver medalist relegated her teammate Dajana Eitberger (+0,031 sec.) and Elina Ieva Vitola (LAT, +0,037 sec.) to the World Cup and European Championship places. The 22-year-old Latvian was also happy about the title in the U23 European Championship.

Light continuous rain, 3 degrees and thus a roughened track - even before the start it was clear to everyone that it would be a weather race and a later starting number would not necessarily be an advantage. The top racers had to find as perfect a line as possible in the first run in order not to lose too much time. After the first run, the gap between the leader Kendija Aparjode (LAT) and her teammate Elina Vitola in sixth place was just nine hundredths. In the end, Anna Berreiter raced from seventh place to the top.

Not competing last week due to illness, Merle Fräbel from Germany, who is only 19 years old, finished fourth, closely followed by Sandra Robatscher from Italy and Sigita Berzina (LAT). The previous leader in the overall World Cup, Julia Taubitz, finished in eighth place after a messed up first run. With a best time of 41.868 seconds, Madeleine Egle had a dream run in the second run and rolled up the field from behind. The 24-year-old Austrian moved up from 25th to 12th place.

After her victory the previous week and silver today, Dajana Eitberger has taken the lead in the overall World Cup. The 32-year-old has been on the podium in each of the last four races and is heading to her home World Cup in Oberhof as one of the top favorites.

Quotes:

Anna Berreiter: “I have a very special history with this track, have struggled a lot in the last two years to even get down here. Because of the crash I had here in 2020, it was torture for me just to be here at the venue. Last week was the first time I thought I could race competitively here. That it was enough for the European title today in this rain race is unbelievable. I'm just happy to finally get along here on the track.”

Dajana Eitberger: “Things are just going really well for me right now. It's a really long journey. Sport is not only measured by wins, but more importantly, by how many defeats you take. I've proven often enough in my career that I can get back up, and that in luge you always have to fight your way back and prove yourself again. I hope I can take my flow with me for the next two weeks. But I was very happy for Anna because I know what she has been through here the last years. That's where you suffer as a teammate.”

Elina Ieva Vitola: “I am happy with my bronze medal. I didn't have the best runs today, but I am happy to be successful here at home in front of family and friends. Now I am looking forward to the World Championships. I like the track in Oberhof because it is very similar to my home track here in Sigulda. Would be great if it works out with a medal there as well.”

The results of the 5th Women's World Cup of the 2022/23 season are available at the following link: https://www.fil-luge.org/de/ergebnisse/eberspaecher-weltcup-23

All European Championship and U23 European Championship results can be found here: https://www.fil-luge.org/de/ergebnisse/fil-europa-meisterschaften-4