The first day of competition at the 14th FIL Juniors World Championships in natural track luge in Winterleiten (AUT) was hard to beat in terms of excitement. On Saturday, Tobias Paur/Andreas Hofer (ITA) grabed the gold medal in the doubles in a truly heart-stopping finale.

Juniors World Champions doubles 2024: Tobias Paur/Andreas Hofer (ITA)

Winterleiten (FIL/02/10/2024) Tobias Paur/Andreas Hofer (ITA) dominated the Juniors World Cup in natural track luge this winter. In the first run of the Juniors World Championship race on Saturday, however, things didn't go as planned for the bronze medalists at the General Class European Championships a week ago. After a mistake in the finish corner, Paur/Hofer finished on second place. The strong Slovakians Peter Neupauer/Dominik Neupauer were in the lead after run one by 0.10 seconds. In the second run, Paur/Hofer had an almost flawless run and took the lead with a total time of 2:15.31 minutes. Neupauer/Neupauer were able to keep up with Paur/Hofer in the upper part of the 940 meter long natural luge track in Styria; the sensation seemed within reach. After a mistake in turn six, the Slovaks lost a lot of speed, and in the end they were 0.55 seconds behind – but the silver medal was safe. Bronze for the 2023 European Juniors Champions, Anton Gruber Genetti/Hannes Unterholzner (ITA/+2.27).

Podium doubles (from left): Peter Neupauer/Dominik Neupauer (SVK), Andreas Hofer/Tobias Paur (ITA) and Anton Gruber Genetti/Hannes Unterholzner (ITA)

“It was really fun in the second run, we managed to take a lot of speed into the final part and the finish curve was also smooth. This gold medal is the crown of a perfect season,” explained Tobias Paur in the winner’s interview.

Decision in the single-seater on Sunday
The decision for the single-seaters is scheduled for Sunday. After the first run on Saturday, Vid Kralj (SLO) leads the juniors with a time of 1:02.16 minutes, followed by Alex Oberhofer (ITA/+0.46), Anton Gruber Genetti (ITA/+0.47) and Ziga Kralj (SLO/+0.60).

Among the girls defending champion Riccarda Ruetz (AUT) is in the lead in 1:03.02 minutes, ahead of Jenny Castiglioni (ITA/0.46 seconds) and the reigning junior European champion Sarah Schiller (GER/+1.18).

Races two and three follow on Sunday from 9 a.m., followed by the team competition.

The World Championship races in Winterleiten will be broadcast live on the Rodel Austria YouTube channel on Sunday from 9 a.m.

Result Juniors World Championships 2024, doubles
1. Tobias Paur/Andreas Hofer (ITA), 2:15.31 minutes
2. Peter Neupauer/Dominik Neupauer (SVK), +0.55 seconds
3. Anton Gruber Genetti/Hannes Unterholzner (ITA), +2.27

Medal table JWCh 2024
1. Italy 1/0/1
2. Slovakia 0/1/0