Not long to go until the 46th FIL World Championships at Königssee and the YOG

Berchtesgaden (RWH)  As the old year draws to a close, the major luge events of the new year are starting to loom large. The first flagship event of 2016 will be the 46th International Luge Federation (FIL) World Championships on the ice track in Königssee in late January, followed by the second edition of the Youth Olympic Games in February in Lillehammer, Norway.

A record seven FIL titles will be awarded at the World Championships on the most prestigious artificial ice track in the world, including the new sprint format. Meanwhile, the Olympic luge program in Lillehammer will feature four disciplines (ladies, men’s, doubles and team relay). The stars of tomorrow will be crowned in Norway, while the current luge elite will battle for victory in Königssee.

There were some real surprise results during the first half of the season in the Viessmann World Cup and the BMW Sprint World Cup at the rounds held in Innsbruck (AUT), Lake Placid, Park City (both USA), and Calgary (CAN). Top-ranking performer Germany achieved a comparatively modest 10 victories from the 20 races staged during the first half of the season (including the team relay). Half of those wins went to the team’s two doubles pairings of Olympic Champions Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt and Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken.

The emerging US team managed a total of seven wins thanks to Summer Britcher (three) and Erin Hamlin (one) in the women’s event, along with Chris Mazdzer (two) and the team relay in Lake Placid. Other competitors to add sparkle to the season were Wolfgang Kindl, winner of the BMW Sprint World Cup in Park City, and now the first Austrian to lead the Viessmann World Cup in 11 years, along with Italian Dominik Fischnaller, who won the season opener in Innsbruck. Teammates Christian Oberstolz/Patrick Gruber won the BMW Sprint World Cup in Park City to end the German team’s domination of doubles, which consisted of 15 wins in a row. As a result, the scene is set for an exciting battle heading into the season’s premier events.