Lake Placid (pps) While U.S. luger Julia Clukey posted a second-place finish at the World Cup – the best result of her career – and thus took the title at the American-Pacific Championships of the International Luge Federation (FIL), it was the icing on the cake to Germany’s Natalie Geisenberger’s perfect pre-Olympic season. After her first World Championship title and the gold medal at the Europeans in Oberhof, 25-year-old Geisenberger now earned her first Joska crystal award for the overall winner of the Viessmann Luge World Cup. Geisenberger took the podium’s top spot at the 8th stop of the Viessmann Luge World Cup series in Lake Placid in the U.S. state of New York. With a winning margin of 185 points ahead of the World Cup final on the future Olympic track in Sochi (Russia), her overall victory is now a foregone conclusion.
Geisenberger, who earned four second-place finishes (2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012) and one third place in the overall World Cup rankings, thus succeeds Olympic Champion Tatjana Huefner of Germany. Huefner celebrated five successive overall Viessmann Luge World Cup victories (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011).
With her second-place finish, Clukey won the 2nd edition of the FIL American-Pacific Championships which were carried out simultaneously in a “race-in-race” format. Canadian Alex Gough, who finished in third place at the World Cup, earned the silver medal. Erin Hamlin (USA), fifth in the World Cup event, took bronze.
The final of the World Cup series will be carried out on the future Olympic track in Sochi, Russia on February 23-24, 2013.
The complete result lists can be downloaded at www.fil-luge.org
Quotes
Natalie Geisenberger (GER / 2013 World Champion, 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, World silver medalist in 2008, 2009 and 2011; bronze medalist at the 2012 Worlds, 2008 and 2013 European Champion)
“I don’t really know what to say. The training runs were really bad and I would have been happy with a fifth place. I’ve had quite a few icings on the cake this season - the gold medal at the Europeans, the first World Championship title and now winning the overall World Cup rankings. This season has given me a lot of self-confidence and motivation, it was a lot of fun. I will take it all along into the upcoming Olympic winter.”
Julia Clukey (USA / fifth place at the 2009 Worlds, 9th place at the 2013 Worlds)
“I’ve had some difficult years. This is the reward for all the hard work in the summer months. The second place in the World Cup is more important for me than the victory in the American-Pacific Championships because the German women are so competitive. It doesn’t happen very often that other nations make it onto the podium.”
Alex Gough (CAN / 2011 and 2013 World bronze medalist)
“I’m really happy. After all, it’s my third podium finish this season. Actually, three different flags at the victory ceremony, that doesn’t happen very often in luge.”
