Koenigssee (pps) The Viessmann Luge World Cup takes a break for Christmas – but
the world’s top athletes do not. The 14 best men, the twelve best women and the
eight best doubles will meet at the track at Koenigssee for the European Open and a
total prize money of Euro 30,000 on January 4 and 5 (start at 10:45 hrs CET on both
days). An athlete can cash a maximum of Euro 2,500.
Apart from the lugers from overseas, all well-known athletes will participate on the
the world’s first artificially refrigerated bob and luge track at Koenigssee that has
been modified for the 2004 World Championships in men’s and women’s bobsleigh
and skeleton. Italy’s 2002 Olympic gold medal winner in Salt Lake City, Armin Zoeggeler,
Austria’s current leader in the Viessmann Luge World Cup, Markus Kleinheinz,
and Russia’s victor at Oberhof, Albert Demchenko, will try to prevent Germany’s
three-time Olympic champion Georg Hackl from winning on his home-track.
In the women’s event the eventual winner will have to defeat the German trio with
2002 Olympic champion Sylke Otto, local heroine Barbara Niedernhuber, and 1998
Olympic gold medallist Silke Kraushaar.
In the doubles event where four different doubles won the four World Cup competitions
held so far, the Olympic champions Patric Leitner-Alexander Resch will enjoy a
slight home-advantage. But the Austrians with the Altenberg winners Andreas Linger-
Wolfgang Linger and the former World champions Tobias Schiegl-Markus
Schiegl are not to be underestimated, and neither are the Italians with Gerhard
Plankensteiner-Oswald Haselrieder, the winners at Oberhof, and Christian Oberstolz-Patrick
Gruber.
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