Sigulda (RWH) The Latin phrase “primus inter pares” (first among equals) is a pretty good description of the position held by Felix Loch in men’s luge. With two Olympic victories in 2010 and 2014, gold with the relay team at Sochi 2014 and four FIL World Championship titles in the men’s singles, Loch stands out clearly from his peers at just 25 years of age. Yet the dominance of the German male lugers led by Felix Loch, which came to a peak when they took the first four places at the 2013 World Championships in Whistler (CAN), is now a thing of the past. “There are more athletes at the top in the men’s now. The quality is much better,” says Germany’s head coach Norbert Loch. Only his son Felix, who was ahead of the field in Innsbruck-Igls and the German tracks of Königssee, Oberhof and Winterberg, has brought home victory for Germany this post-Olympic winter. Three “debutants” came first in three of the other World Cups: 19-year-old US luger Tucker West in Lake Placid, his compatriot Chris Mazdzer in the Sprint World Cup in Calgary, and Sam Edney of Canada in his home town of Calgary. Added to these are podium appearances by Wolfgang Kindl of Austria, Stepan Fedorov of Russia, and the Italian Fischnaller cousins Dominik and Kevin. Six nations (GER, USA, CAN, AUT, RUS and ITA) have been in the top three at least once this season. So the suspense will be high when it comes to the battle for medals in the men’s singles at the 45th FIL World Championships in Sigulda, Latvia, which starts at 10:10 am local time on February 15. Particularly we should remember that the host country has always been good for a surprise in races held at home. In 2003, for example, Martins Rubenis won Latvia’s first ever World Championship medal in the luge on this track. This time round, the Latvian hopefuls are Inars Kivlenieks, Maurins Kristaps and Rozitis Riks Kristens. But Felix Loch is most definitely the favorite for the race, particularly since this long-standing winner is absolutely bursting with self-confidence. “I’m on a roll,” says the defending champion in the run-up to Sigulda. “The material is good, and so is my form. The World Championships can come.” Sigulda will be the sixth time that the Bavarian athlete competes in the FIL World Championships. Only at his first appearance in 2007 at the age of sixteen (Innsbruck-Igls) did Loch leave empty-handed with a ninth place. Since then he has won four gold medals (2008, 2009, 2012 and 2013) and a silver in Cesana (ITA) in 2011, where only Italy’s exceptional luger Armin Zöggeler was able to beat him. Zöggeler currently holds the record when it comes to the championships with six titles and a total of 10 medals (6 – 3 – 1), but Loch, currently first among equals, is catching up steadily with a score today of 4 – 1 – 0.