Sigulda (pps) Germany’s Olympic champion Tatjana Huefner has tied her own record. At the final of the Viessmann Luge World Cup in Sigulda, Latvia, the three-time World champion celebrated her seventh victory this season and thus tied her own record of the 2007-2008 season, when she achieved seven wins, too.
On the artificially-iced track in Latvia the 27-year old luger, who had won the overall World Cup crown for the fourth consecutive time already prior to the season’s final, defeated Russia’s European champion Tatjana Ivanova by a mere 13 thousands of a second. Huefner, after the first run behind Ivanova, set up a new track record in the second run, clocking 42.274 seconds. Germany’s Anke Wischnewski finished in third position.
Canada’s Alex Gough, who ended the winning series of Germany’s women lugers last weekend after a total of 105 successive World Cup victories, finished in forth position.
Huefner won the overall rankings with a total of 845 points to her credit, ahead of team-mates Natalie Geisenberger (680) and Anke Wischnewski (605). The President of the International Olympic Committee, IOC, Jacques Rogge, followed the final in the women’s singles. Rogge is on a private visit to Latvia’s National Olympic Committee in Riga.
The Quotes
Tatjana Huefner (GER / 2010 Olympic champion as well as World champion in 2007, 2008 and 2011)
“I botched the start in the first run. This is why I’m really happy that I won after all. The overall World Cup victory is very important for me – after all it’s a commendation for the season’s most dominant luger. At World Championships you just get to do two runs, but a World Cup season mirrors the performances of an entire season.”
