Vancouver (pps) Exactly four months before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver on February 12, 2010, all major teams are eagerly preparing for the Olympic luge races. Canada as the host country is using its home advantage: The Canadian luge team has been training hard at the Olympic artificial track at the „Whistler Sliding Center“ since early October. Canada has never won an Olympic luge medal.
Italy’s two-time Olympic champion Armin Zöggeler and his team have begun training at the 1994 Olympic luge track in Lillehammer, Norway. There, the Austrian team, including the 2006 Olympic champions Andreas and Wolfgang Linger, is also getting ready for the season. After Lillehammer, they will train in Sigulda, Latvia, and subsequently at Königssee (GER).
The US team started off into the Olympic winter with a start competition. The race was won by World Championships fifth-placer Julia Cluckey, World Championships sixth-placer Bengt Walden and Matt Mortensen/Preston Griffal. The team around World Champion Erin Hamlin is getting ready for the season on their home track in Lake Placid.
The German team started off into the Olympic season with a training course at Winterberg followed by a first internal selection in Altenberg. The winners were World Championships silver medalist Natalie Geisenberger, World Champion Felix Loch and the Olympic champions Patric Leitner/Alexander Resch. At the end of October, the German national championships will be held at the artificial track in Winterberg.
From November 9 to 14, all teams will be reunited at the International Training Week in Whistler. For all teams, except for the host country and some weaker nations, this will be the only opportunity to train on the future Olympic track. The first official competition in the upcoming winter will be the Viessmann World Cup in Calgary, Canada, on November 20/21.
