Historic triple success for USA at Lake Placid

Lake Placid (RWH) The US lugers are a force to be reckoned with on their home track. Just 24 hours after Chris Mazdzer and Tucker West achieved a one-two finish, the host team enjoyed an historic triple success in Lake Placid when Erin Hamlin, Emily Sweeney, and Summer Britcher completed the top three in the women’s singles at the Viessmann World Cup.

Erin Hamlin clinched her second singles victory on the Mount Van Hoevenberg ice track, adding to last year’s sprint win in Altenberg, Germany. Hamlin, 29, saw off the world’s elite at the same track almost eight years ago when she won the World Championship title here. She laid down a marker by setting a new track record on her first run, improving her own record of 43.985 seconds, set nearly eight years ago, to 43.912 seconds.

Emily Sweeney, Junior World Champion in 2013, managed her best result to date in second place, while Summer Britcher made the Viessmann World Cup podium for the first time. Olympic gold medallist and World Champion Natalie Geisenberger (GER) had to settle for fourth place, having finished second at the season opener in Innsbruck.