At the 29th FIL Luge European Championships on Natural Track in Laas/Lasa (ITA), the medal decisions in the women's singles and in the doubles were on the agenda on Saturday. In both races the existing track records were broken.
In the women's singles, Evelin Lanthaler (ITA) underlined her supremacy. The defending champion secured her fourth European title in a row in 2:05.16 minutes. In the first run, the 30-year-old set a new track record of 1:02.41 minutes. In doing so, she even undercut Thomas Kammerlander's (AUT) existing track record of 1:02.73 minutes from the previous year. Behind Lanthaler, Greta Pinggera (ITA) secured the silver medal on her home track. After the first run, Pinggera was in third place, in the second run the local hero showed her class and pushed Tina Unterberger (AUT) into third place.
Old and new european champion: Evelin Lanthaler (ITA)
"The first run was really perfect, in the second run I knew that I didn't have to take any more risks," Lanthaler explained after the fourth European Championship title. “After the first run I was already angry, but in the second run I was able to perform well and drove fast. Compliments to Evelin (Lanthaler), she couldn't have been bent even with two great runs," says Greta Pinggera. Tina Unterberger also took off her hat to Lanthaler: "This achievement cannot be overestimated, I'm curious how long this track record will last. I'm really happy about the bronze medal, because I haven't been able to get on the podium in the World Cup so far this season."
(from left) Greta Pinggera (ITA), Evelin Lanthaler (ITA) and Tina Unterberger (AUT)
Oldies but goldies
There was a surprising winner in the doubles. The 39-year-old oldies Pavel Poshnev/Ivan Lazarev (RUS) were in third place after the first run, 0.30 seconds behind the half-time leaders Patrick Pigneter/Florian Clara (ITA). With an unleashed final run, Porshnev/Lazarev secured the gold medal in 2:13.15 minutes, just ahead of Pigneter/Clara (+0.08 seconds) and Fabian Achenrainer/Simon Achenrainer (AUT/+0.36 seconds). The defending champions Patrick Lambacher/Matthias Lambacher (ITA) botched the second run and slipped from second to the thankless fourth place. For Porshnev/Lazarev it is their fifth European Championship title after Hüttau 2004, Umhausen 2006, Olang 2008 and Novouralsk 2012. They now also lead the all-time list of the best, ahead of Pigneter/Clara with four European Championship gold medals.
European champions 2022: Pavel Porshnev/Ivan Lazarev (RUS)
"It's incredible. We always live in Lasa in winter, we have trained a lot here. This win is a win for the whole team,” said a happy Ivan Lazarev. “The second run wasn't good, you can't win with a performance like that. Maybe we wanted too much. But I am pleased that two other old-timer are at the top with Porshnev/Lazarev. That shows that we're still not belonging to the scrap heap," says Patrick Pigneter. Pigneter/Clara beat their own track record of 1:06.87 minutes from the previous year in the first run in 1:06.32 minutes. Achenrainer/Achenrainer were also happy about their first medal at the European Championships: “With fourth place after the first run, we had actually already buried our medal dreams. In the second run we wanted to show that we can do it and it worked”, analyzed Fabian Achenrainer.
(from left) Florian Clara/Patrick Pigneter (ITA), Ivan Lazarev/Pavel Porshnev (RUS) and Simon Achenrainer/Fabian Achenrainer (AUT)
On Sunday, the last two title-fights will be decided on the "Gafair-track". Both races will be broadcast live on the website of the International Luge Federation at https://www.fil-luge.org/en/live-streaming-natural
Top-Three women's single, 12.02.2022
1. Evelin Lanthaler (ITA) 2.05,16 minutes
2. Greta Pinggera (ITA) +1,14 seconds
3. Tina Unterberger (AUT) +1,30 seconds
Top-Three men's single, 12.02.2022
1. Pavel Porshnev/Ivan Lazarev (RUS) 2.13,15 minutes
2. Patrick Pigneter/Florian Clara (ITA) +0,08 seconds
3. Fabian Achenrainer/Simon Achenrainer (AUT) +0,36 seconds
Medal table
1. Italien 1/2/0
2. Russland 1/0/0
3. Österreich 0/0/2
The program of the 29th FIL European Luge Championships on Natural Track in Laas/Lasa (ITA)
Sunday, February 13, 2022 (CET)
9.30 a.m.: 1st run men’s singles
11.30 a.m.: Final run single-seater men, followed by flower ceremony and award ceremony
1:00 p.m.: Team competition, followed by a flower ceremony and award ceremony
