Nagano (pps) Though Japan has hosted Olympic luge competitions twice – at Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998 – the 37th World Luge Championships to be held on the “Spiral” 1998 Olympic track on February 13-15 will be a première: For the first time in the history of the International Luge Federation, FIL, a FIL Member from Asia will stage World Championships. 22 nations have entered 44 men, 28 women and 16 doubles for the three competitions.

The World Championships six years after the 1998 Olympic Winter Games on the same track will be marked by great duels. After the conclusion of the Viessmann World Cup the question who the new World champions in the individual events will be, are limited to two men and two women: in the women’s event Germany’s Sylke Otto against Silke Kraushaar, in the men’s event Italy’s Armin Zoeggeler versus Germany’s Georg Hackl are the most likely duels. In the doubles’ event, however, there are half a dozen pairs with a chance for winning the gold medal.

“Georg Hackl is the favourite at Nagano”, the Olympic, World and European champion Armin Zoeggeler says. “That’s just an attempt to clear himself from the burden if being favourite”, the three-time Olympic champion from Berchtesgaden counters. “But Nagano is the Hackl-track”, Zoeggeler insists. Hackl’s comment: “Though I won there once, I also failed there miserably.” That happened at the last World Cup events at Nagano when the entire German men’s team chose the wrong sleds after a fast change of the weather and ended up low down on the result sheets.

With the exception of that event, 37-year-old Hackl has very agreeable recollections of Nagano. At the 1997 Olympic test events he was leading by more than half a second at “half-time”, then changed his runners in order not to challenge the “Olympic omen” in luging. According to that unwritten rule the winner of the pre-Olympic test had never achieved the Olympic gold medal the following year. This ominous omen was only suspended by Armin Zoeggeler when he won the pre-Olympic test in 2001 and also Olympic gold in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

In 1997, Hackl finished in third position after the second heat, the winner was US American Wendell Suckow. The following year Hackl gained the Olympic title – by the largest margin of all his three Olympic victories. In 1999 Hackl repeated his success in the World Cup at Nagano. The German won two of the four races held on the “Spiral”. In addition to Suckow in 1997, Italy’s Wilfried Huber was the other winner in the weather-affected event in 2001.

Many experts consider 22-year-old German David Moeller capable of winning a medal at the World Championships. He finished third behind Zoeggeler and Hackl in the overall World Cup and won his first ever World Cup race at Calgary. “I have never raced at Nagano, and thus don’t know the track at all”, Moeller dampens too high expectations. However, just five training runs were sufficient for the Federal Border Guard policeman to finish third in the World Cup competition at his first appearance at Lake Placid. Georg Hackl thinks a lot of his young competitor in the German team, but discloses another athlete as a contender for the medals: “American Tony Benshoof, he certainly must be reckoned with.”

The situation in the women’s event is completely different. Sylke Otto was on the top of the podium seven times this season, Silke Kraushaar six times, prior to the most important event of this winter. Sylke Otto, the 2002 Olympic champion, won five World Cup events and two in the Krombacher Challenge Cup. Silke Kraushaar, the 1998 Olympic champion, achieved three victories in the World Cup, two in the Challenge Cup and became European champion. “We have been alternating winning races for the whole season. As Sylke Otto won the last World Cup race at Koenigssee, it would be my turn again at Nagano”, Silke Kraushaar says.

A further fact is speaking for Kraushaar: History can well repeat itself. In 1998, Silke Kraushaar first won the national German title, then European gold with a track record, and finally Olympic gold. This winter she has already fulfilled three of the four conditions: German title and European gold with a track record. A good omen for Nagano? “I wouldn’t have anything against it”, replies the 33-year-old from Thuringia who is only missing the World title in her medal collection.

Further medal contenders are Germany’s Barbara Niedernhuber, who missed Olympic gold in 1998 by just two thousandths of a second, and 2004 European silver medallist Tatjana Huefner. The 20-year-old „Shooting Star“ will be morally supported by her parents travelling to Nagano to watch their daughter’s World Championship debut. “Grandma contributes 1,000 Euro”, Tatjana Huefner discloses. Austria’s Sonja Manzenreiter and Veronika Halder as well as Latvia’s Anna Orlova could prevent straight German medals at Nagano.

The decision in the doubles promises to be thrilling. No fewer than six doubles gained victories this winter: Austria’s World title holders Andreas Linger-Wolfgang Linger won the World Cup competitions at Sigulda, Latvia, and Altenberg, Germany, plus the Challenge Cup at Altenberg. Their predecessors as World champions, Germany’s Andre Florschuetz-Torsten Wustlich were top of the podium at the World Cup events at Calgary, Canada, and Winterberg, Germany, plus the Challenge Cup at Park City, Utah. Germany’s 2002 Olympic champions Patric Leitner-Alexander Resch assured the overall World Cup title thanks to strong showings at the last World Cup events at Igls, Austria, and Koenigssee, Germany, and also won the Challenge Cup on their local track at Koenigssee.

The 2002 Olympic silver medallists, US Americans Mark Grimmette-Brian Martin, missed the first three World Cup events due to an injury of Grimmette, but celebrated a great comeback winning at Park City and are focussing totally on the World Championships. Tobias Schiegl-Markus Schiegl, Austria’s 2003 World silver medallists, won the Challenge Cup event at Altenberg and think they are in with a medal chance at Nagano. Despite their victory at the European Championships, when they achieved the title on their hometrack, Germany’s Steffen Skel-Steffen Woeller have not been nominated for the World Championships by national coach Thomas Schwab. „They failed to take their chance”, Schwab said after the crash of the two-time World silver medallists (2000, 2001) at Koenigssee and finishes in seventh (Winterberg) and eighth (Igls) positions.

Germany’s selection, the title holders in the team event, are once again the favourites at Nagano. Italy, Austria, the USA and Slovakia with the 2004 European bronze medallist Jaroslav Slavik, Latvia, the 2003 World silver medallists, and the unpredictable Canadians are nourishing medal hopes.