Thanksgiving precedes Viessmann World Cup in Lake Placid

Lake Placid (RWH) Thanksgiving Day, the American version of the harvest festival, is on November 28 this year. The second Viessmann Luge World Cup and the first BMW Sprint World Cup of the 2019/2020 season is scheduled for the following Saturday (November 30) and Sunday (December 1) in Lake Placid. “For the first time in 18 years I can celebrate Thanksgiving at home,” explains the USA team’s Olympic silver medallist Chris Mazdzer. And team-mate Emily Sweeney, the 2019 World Championship bronze medallist in Winterberg, adds: “I haven’t spent Thanksgiving at home in 12 years.”

Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the USA – schools and shops are closed as the day is spent with family and friends. So the scheduling of the International Luge Federation (FIL) this year is a welcome gift for the US team. Away from the Thanksgiving festivities, the hosts are hoping to follow up on their previous strong on-track performances.

The US team is a real force to be reckoned with on the Mount Van Hoevenberg ice track. Erin Hamlin became the first US luger to win the World Championship here back in 2009. Erin Hamlin, Emily Sweeney and Summer Britcher achieved an historic sweep of the medals in the 2015/2016 winter season. And in the previous year – when Germany’s successful trio of Natalie Geisenberger, Dajana Eitberger (both currently on maternity leave) and Tatjana Hüfner (retired) were still active – Summer Britcher and Emily Sweeney finished fourth and fifth, respectively. The former also finished runner-up to Natalie Geisenberger in the BMW Sprint World Cup.

2017 U23 World Champion Britcher, who also finished third overall last year, performed well in last weekend’s season opener in Innsbruck, finishing second behind the Russian Tatyana Ivanova. Brittney Arndt and Ashley Farquharson showed their talents with 13th and 15th place finishes, respectively. Only Emily Sweeney was left a little disappointed with 24th.

In the doubles, Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken shot straight to the top of the standings with their 40th individual victory. Jonas Mueller from Austria celebrated his first win in the Viessmann Luge World Cup, proving that his sprint world title was no fluke. Champions Italy won the team competition. The second round of the Viessmann Team Relay World Cup presented by BMW will be staged on January 12, 2020 in Altenberg (GER).