Luge Canada names World Cup team

Calgary (LugeCanada/FIL) Olympic medalists Tristan Walker and Justin Snith are leading a new generation of Canadian luge athletes looking to make their mark on the World Cup stage.

Walker (Cochrane) and Snith (Calgary) will lead the newly formed World Cup team, which consists of four women and five men. The 30-year-old, three-time Olympians are aiming to return to the World Cup podium in the double sculls in the crucial 2021/22 season.

Twenty-two-year-old Reid Watts (Whistler), a bronze medallist at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games and twelfth at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, is the only Olympian on the young team. Watts will be the only Canadian in the men's singles.

"I see a lot of potential in everyone on the team this year and I know we are all looking forward to competing internationally," said Tristan Walker. "Justin and I are particularly excited to be able to support another doubles team this season. This brings us full circle to our first year on the team in 2010."

The doubles team includes 20-year-old Cole Zajanski and 19-year-old Devin Wardrope of Calgary, who will compete in full World Cup competition for the first time this year. The young doubles team finished 13th in their only World Cup start in 2020.

The Canadian men are joined by a group of four young women who could make their Olympic debut this winter. The women's team includes two athletes from British Columbia and two from Calgary. Trinity Ellis (Pemberton, B.C.) is entering her third season in the World Cup at just 19 years old. Ellis showed her potential with an eighth-place finish in the women's single to open the 2019 season. She is joined by reigning Canadian champion Makena Hodgson (Calgary) and 18-year-old World Cup rookies Kailey Allan (Calgary) and Natalie Corless (Whistler, B.C.). Corless, along with Caitlin Nash (Whistler, B.C.), won silver medals in the women's doubles at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games.

"Luge Canada has created a strategic performance plan that focuses on long-term athlete development while ensuring the health of our athletes. Tristan and Justin have proven they are capable of delivering results on the ultimate stage, while Reid is now ready to establish herself among the elite," said Tim Farstad, General Manager of Luge Canada. "With these three Olympic veterans at the helm, we will work to progressively and consistently develop these promising athletes with the ultimate goal of peaking at the 2026 and 2030 Games. This group is motivated and determined to continue their development and see the Canadian maple leaf above the podium in luge."

To start the season, the Canadian Luge Team completed their selection races in Sigulda, Latvia last week. The team then travelled to Winterberg for a short training block before heading to the Olympic track in Beijing, China, for the first time on 4 November.