Germany also takes gold in the team relay

Yanqing (FIL) It was close, but the big favourite Germany did not show any weakness in the team relay at the end of the Olympic luge competitions in Beijing 2022.

Natalie Geisenberger, Johannes Ludwig and Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt also won gold as a team after their gold medals in the individual competitions. However, their lead was only 0.080 seconds over the Austrian quartet with Madeleine Egle, Wolfgang Kindl as well as Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller. The Austrian double had made a small mistake on the exit from curve 13. Steu said gratefully: "My great teammates pulled it together despite our mistake, we did not lose gold - but won silver."
Latvia won bronze with Eliza Tiruma, Kristers Aparjods and Martins Bots/Roberts Plume. The four luge athletes were 0.948 seconds slower.

Both Natalie Geisenberger and the doubles Wendl/Arlt thus won six gold medals each, for Ludwig it was the third Olympic gold after his victory in Beijing on Sunday and the team triumph four years ago in Pyeongchang.

Before IOC member Paul Tergat, the former Kenyan long-distance runner, presented the medals, the German quartet joined hands and jumped onto the podium. "When we saw that Lüdi was a bit behind, we knew we had to pull off a good run," said doubles' pilot Wendl. They succeeded. A calculatetd gap of 25 centimetres brought them the victory. "That's enough," Arlt flattened. And Ludwig just meant: "That much..." At least the German team has continued its impressive record: since the team relay was added to the Olympic programme in Sotchi in 2014, Germany has won every time.

The Latvian quartet was at least as happy as the four German lugers. Martins Bots and Roberts Plume only ever looked at their medal. "We are incredibly happy," said Kristers Aparjods, before Eliza Tiruma added: "Today we did our job, only later we will realise what we have achieved."

Italy went into the final Olympic race weakened because Dominik Fischnaller could not compete. After the individual race, where the 28-year-old South Tyrolean won bronze, he was tested positive for Covid-19. Leon Felderer stepped in for him. Together with Andrea Vötter as well as Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner they finished fifth behind the team of the Russian Olympic Committee (1.261 sec. back) with a gap of 1.446 seconds.

All Olympic results can be found under the following link: https://www.fil-luge.org/en/multimedia/olympic-winter-games-3