Cesana (pps) At the 42nd Worlds of the International Luge Federation in Cesana, Italy, Austria’s two-time Olympic champions Andreas Linger-Wolfgang Linger have earned their second World championship title. The 2003 World champions defeated Italy’s doubles’ with Christian Oberstolz-Patrick Guber. Olympic runners-up Andris Sics-Juris Sics of Latvia took bronze.

Bad luck for Austria’s second doubles’ with Peter Penz-Georg Fischler: already on target for the bronze medal they crashed only a few metres away from the finish-line.

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Andreas Linger (AUT / 2006 and 2010 Olympic champion, 2003 and 2011 World champion, 2010 European champion)

“I’m relieved and very happy. As the top favourites we’ve been under a lot of pressure from all sides. But we’ve made it. A success at the Worlds in Cesana was one of our aims. I’m really thrilled because it was more difficult to earn the title this time round than in 2003. That’s too bad for Penz-Fischler, they really would have deserved the medal.”