Hannah Prock, Svante Kohala and Jäger/Steudte win Nations Cup in Oberhof

Oberhof (FIL/24 Jan 2025) Svante Kohala of Sweden, Hannah Prock of Austria and the doubles team of Moritz Jäger and Valentin Steudte impressed with their victories at the 7th FIL Nations Cup of the season in the LOTTO Thüringen EisArena on Friday, January 24, 2025.

In the exciting men's singles race, Svante Kohala of Sweden took the win in a hard-fought field of 32 starters competing for 18 World Cup spots. With a flawless performance, Kohala secured first place with a run time of 43.609 seconds, showing exceptional control and speed on the demanding Oberhof track. His impressive last sector solidified his victory. Australia's Alexander Ferlazzo narrowly took second place, just +0.071 seconds behind Kohala. Ferlazzo impressed in the first sectors with the fastest split times and led halfway through the track. However, Kohala's final push pushed Ferlazzo down, with a time of 43.680 seconds.

The podium was completed by Jonathan Gustafson of the United States. Gustafson delivered a strong performance with a total time of 43.719 seconds, finishing 0.110 seconds behind Kohala. Although he was slightly behind in the early and middle stages, his clean run in the lower part of the track secured him third place.

“This is my first Nations Cup victory. I am very happy with my good run. I have never had such a successful start to a World Cup weekend. Now I just have to show this performance twice on Sunday at the World Cup,” said winner Kohala.

In the women's race, Hannah Prock took first place in 42.567 seconds. The 24-year-old Austrian impressed with the fastest intermediate times from the second sector onwards. Hot on her heels, 20-year-old German Melina Fischer secured second place with a time of 42.660 seconds, just +0.093 seconds behind Prock. Fischer's consistent performance, including a strong start, kept her in the race for gold until the last sector. The Austrian team celebrated another podium finish with Dorothea Schwarz. The 19-year-old Tyrolean started with only the twelfth time and convinced with a flawless run and a time of 42.764 seconds to finish third. Thanks to her strong performance in the middle and end sections, Schwarz made it into the top three and was only +0.197 seconds behind her compatriot at the end.

Italian luger Sandra Robatscher just barely missed the podium, finishing in fourth place with a time of 42.838 seconds. Hannah Prock was relieved at the end: “I feel a bit relieved right now. The whole week here in Oberhof has gone very well and after my forced break due to back problems, I am now 80 percent fit again and I am happy that things are going so well for me at the moment.”

In the doubles competition, the Germans Moritz Jaeger and Valentin Steudte took the victory in the men's doubles at the Nations Cup in Oberhof. The race offered great action on one of the most technically demanding tracks in the LOTTO Thüringen Ice Arena Oberhof. Local heroes Moritz Jaeger and Valentin Steudte thrilled the crowd with an outstanding run and took first place with a time of 42.466 seconds. Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajanski delivered a strong challenge. In the end, the two Canadians finished second, just +0.086 seconds behind the leaders. The Canadian duo showed impressive speed in the first sectors and secured the silver medal with a time of 42.552 seconds.

The podium was completed by the Slovakian team of Tomas Vavercak and Matej Zmij, who delivered an almost flawless run with a time of 42.576 seconds and only +0.110 seconds behind the leaders, taking third place. The Slovakian duo excelled in the first sections but ultimately fell behind in the last sections.

Women's doubles is the newest discipline in the EBERSPAECHER World Cup. It will be on the program for the first time in February 2026 at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. None of the women's doubles had to compete in the Nations Cup in Oberhof on January 24, 2025 to qualify for the World Cup. All duos will take part in the training of the seeded group on Friday, January 24, starting at 2:30 p.m.

Detailed results and further information about the FIL Nations Cup and the 7th EBERSPAECHER Luge World Cup 2024/2025 in Oberhof are available at the following link: https://www.fil-luge.org/de/ergebnisse/eberspaecher-weltcup-42