Sochi (pps) The President of the International Luge Federation (FIL), Josef Fendt of Berchtesgaden, thanked the luge athletes for the brilliant première of the Team Relay event at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. “It was a showcase performance for this new discipline and for our sport. The enthusiasm of the athletes for the Team Relay aroused great emotions among the spectators, too,” explained Fendt. At the Olympic debut of the Team Relay, Germany’s squad claimed the gold medal ahead of Russia and Latvia.

The FIL President explicitly expressed thanks to the coaches, team managers and officials of all participating teams as well the FIL officials. “They all have greatly contributed that we were able to celebrate a successful anniversary of ’50 Years of Luge at Olympic Games’,” Fendt said. It was at the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck, that luge was part of the Olympic program for the first time. According to a decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), luge is now one of the Olympic key sports.