Sigulda (pps) Olympic and World champions Andreas Linger-Wolfgang Linger ended the post-Olympic winter setting an Austrian record. At the final of the Viessmann Luge World Cup in Sigulda, Latvia, the doubles’ celebrated their fifth victory this season. So far, no other team member of the Austrian luge federation, ÖRV, celebrated as many victories in the Viessmann Luge World Cup, not even ten-time overall winner Markus Prock. During his active career Prock had achieved a maximum of four season’s victories.
However, the Austrian two-time Olympic champions, who celebrated their first big success winning the 2003 World Championship title in Sigulda, stumbled at the World Cup events in Winterberg (20th position) and Oberhof (7th position). This is why the doubles’ failed to achieve their first overall Viessmann Luge World Cup.
With a winning margin of just 54 points the German doubles’ with Tobias Wendl-Tobias Arlt thus won the Joska Cup, awarded for the overall luge World Cup. At the season’s final the 2008 World silver medallists finished in seventh position.
Italy’s Christian Oberstolz-Patrick Gruber took second place in Sigulda, being 0.428 seconds behind the German doubles’. The athletes from South Tyrol achieved third place in the overall World Cup rankings with a total of 671 points to their credit, behind winners Wendl-Arlt (746) and Linger-Linger (692). Germany’s Toni Eggert-Sascha Benecken celebrated their third podium finish this season. At the World Cup final in Sigulda they took third place (0.503 seconds behind).
The Quotes
Andreas Linger (AUT / 2006 and 2010 Olympic champions; 2003 and 2011 World champions)
“We had a great season with five victories and the World Championship title as the absolute highlight. Well, it’s quite an achievement failing to take the overall World Cup crown despite five season’s victories...”
Tobias Wendl (GER / 2008 World silver medallist, 2010 European silver medallist, overall World Cup winner 2010-2011)
“This is a nice kind of consolation for us since we had a crash at the World Championships. Anyway, without Linger-Linger’s botched World Cup in Winterberg it would have been a rather close result. But we are very happy about our success.”
