Dominik Fischnaller wins Olympic rehearsals in PyeongChang

PyeongChang (RWH): The wait to find the overall winner in the men’s luge Viessmann World Cup continues. At the penultimate race in the series at the “Alpensia Sliding Centre” in PyeongChang, current leader Roman Repilov of Russia messed up his first run and had to make do with 28th place. World Champion Wolfgang Kindl of Austria also suffered a couple of rocky runs but managed to come back to finish in tenth place. Meanwhile, two-time Olympic champion Felix Loch (GER) had to miss out completely due to a bout of the flu.

Instead, the surprise winner at the Olympic rehearsals was Dominik Fischnaller of Italy. The bronze medallist at the World Championships in Innsbruck won with a 0.149-second lead over Andi Langenhan of Germany. Sam Edeny (CAN), who didn’t compete last season due to his studies, managed to return to the podium for the first time in his comeback season by finishing in third place.

The Russian athlete Roman Repilov continues to lead the overall standings in the Viessmann World Cup with 745 points ahead of his team mate Semen Pavlichenko (674 points) and Felix Loch (663). Wolfgang Kindl (654) follows in fourth place ahead of the winner in PyeongChang Dominik Fischnaller (501).

The ninth and final stop in the Viessmann World Cup is set to take place in Altenberg (GER) next weekend (25/26 February 2017).

Quotes

Dominik Fischnaller (ITA / bronze medallist in the 2017 World Championships):

“It’s incredible. You have to get to two good runs in to get a lead here. Fortunately I managed that, but I had a lot of luck on my side. You can’t read too much into the win here today in terms of next year. Though, of course, I would be delighted to end up back on the podium.”

Andi Langenhan (GER / fourth place in the 2014 Olympics and fifth place in the 2010 Olympics, second place in the 2013 World Championships)

“It was a real lottery. Getting two halfway good runs in here is super tough. I am delighted. It also gives me confidence ahead of the Olympic season. This was my last race of the season as I’m taking a break at the finals in Altenberg to give the juniors a chance.”