Wendl/Arlt secure overall World Cup - Eggert/Benecken World Champions

Salzburg (FIL/25 April 2023) In a total of twelve races of the 2022/2023 EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup, Germany won nine times, Austria twice and Latvia's double Martins Bots and Roberts Plume once. In the medal table, Italy is in fourth place with one World Cup medal from Emmanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner.

The overall ranking in the 45th FIL Luge World Cup season was won by Germany’s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt. After winning the overall sprint World Cup, the six-time Olympic champions also secured the large JOSKA crystal globe in the overall World Cup and the small globe in the discipline World Cup. "So much pressure was taken off us in the end. It's a great feeling. The last time we won the overall World Cup was in 2015/16. To be so consistent throughout the season after such a long time is great. We can be proud of ourselves. I just say: Old, but gold!" said Tobias Wendl.

In the overall ranking of twelve races (including three Sprint World Cup events) the Bavarian Express with 1014 points is 59 points ahead of last year's overall winners Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken (955 points). The young Latvians Bot/Plume finished third with 757 points. "In the end it was a great season for us. We secured third place in the overall World Cup. More was not possible for us at the moment. But we will train hard and are highly motivated. Our goal for next season is very clear: we want to beat the German doubles on their home track," Roberts Plume said.

Eggert/Benecken win doubles gold at World Championships in Oberhof

The German men's doubles team celebrated a double success at the home World Championships in Oberhof, as Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken won their fifth World title ahead of Olympic champions Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt. "Before the second run I was sitting on the top and thought it felt different. It hadn't felt that way for a long time. There was already some tension," said Eggert. But the two local heroes kept their nerves and showed once again that they are the measure of all things at the World Championships: They not only defended their World Championship title, but won it for the fifth time in a row.

With five World Championship gold medals and three World Championship silver medals, they continue to lead the all-time World Championship rankings.

Cheered on by thousands of fans, they set the best time in both runs and won with a total time of 1.23,517 ahead of their teammates Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (+0.171 sec.) and Austria's Yannick Müller and Armin Frauscher (+0.192 sec.). The Olympic champions improved from third to silver, but were still two tenths behind the World Champions. While the Austrians were happy about their first World Championship medal, Wendl/Arlt celebrated their ninth World’s podium.

The 2019 World Championship bronze medalists Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller (AUT) finished fourth, closely followed by Latvia's Martins Bots and Roberts Plume and Italy's Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwalder. The U23 World Championship title was won by the US doubles team of Di Gregorio/Hollander. They beat Gatt/Schöpf (AUT) and Sevics-Mikelsevics/Krasts (LAT).