Trinity Ellis continues Canadian luge tradition
Whistler (RWH) At the tender age of 17 years, Trinity Ellis is continuing Canada’s successful luge tradition. She looks to have a promising future, despite having to follow in the daunting footsteps of Alex Gough, who won the Canadian Association’s first Olympic medal at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018, and Kimberly McRae, who took World Championship bronze in 2017 and finished fifth in both the 2014 and 2018 Olympics.
The lean teenager from Pemberton has already demonstrated her prowess with an eighth-place finish in the season opener in Innsbruck (AUT), before going on to achieve 12th and ninth the following week in Lake Placid (USA). And the 17-year-old was the fastest Canadian in the internal qualifying session on her home track in Whistler for the third round of the Viessmann Luge World Cup on December 13-14, 2019. When head coach Wolfgang Staudinger asked her where she would prefer to compete – at the Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne or in the Viessmann Luge World Cup – she did not hesitate before opting for the World Cup stage.
Ellis, who is currently a student, is the best advert for the legacy of the 2010 Olympics in Whistler. She got her first taste of World Cup action last winter – after making her first appearances in Oberhof and Altenberg, the then 16-year-old was the youngest starter in the 48th World Championships of the International Luge Federation (FIL). She finished 29th overall and also claimed ninth in the U23 standings.
Trinity Ellis is by no means the only luger inspired by the 2010 Olympics to be sliding their way to the top of their sport. “There are a few up-and-coming young lugers,” Wolfgang Staudinger says hopefully. The ultimate aim is to continue the long tradition of Canadian luge. In addition to Alex Gough and Kimberly McRae, other stars of Canadian luge have included Regan Lauscher, who took second at the 2004 Viessmann Luge World Cup in Lake Placid, and Marie-Claude Doyon, who finished seventh in the Olympic Games as long ago as 1988.
