Whistler (pps) The so-called „Olympic omen“ in luge seems to be obsolete. Germany’s Sylke Otto was the last luger to break the iron law that the winner of the pre-Olympic test event will never become Olympic champion. Four-time World champion Otto won the Viessmann Luge World Cup event on the artificially-iced track in Cesana in November 2005 and three months later the Olympic gold medal in the women’s singles.
At the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Armin Zoeggler of Italy rendered the “Olympic omen” obsolete in the men’s singles as well as Germany’s Patrick Leitner-Alexander Resch in the doubles’. Both the five-time World champion from South Tyrol as well as the four-time World champions from Bavaria won the Olympic test event and then an Olympic gold medal.
Until the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, the „Olympic omen“ reliably predicted who would not become Olympic champion. From 1964, when the sport of luge was included within the Olympic programme, until the said year 2002, the winners of the pre-Olympic test events never won an Olympic gold medal. But since the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, the so-called “Olympic omen” seems to be obsolete.
