Lillehammer (pps) While Italy’s Dominik Fischnaller celebrated the victory at the season opener of the Viessmann Luge World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway, his compatriot Armin Zoeggeler missed to achieve his 100th podium finish. The two-time Olympic and record World Champion (six titles) earned a fourth-place finish in the first event of the Olympic season. An exceptional luger, who celebrated a total of 55 top podium spots in his career, Zoeggeler will compete in his sixth Olympic Games in 2014.
Fischnaller posted his first victory in the Viessmann Luge World Cup series and set up a new track record, clocking a time of 49.172 seconds. David Moeller and Felix Loch (both of Germany) earned the second and third place, respectively.
By the way – at the season opener, three-time Olympic champion Georg Hackl of Germany lost the last of the track records, set up during his luge career. In the first run alone, five lugers achieved times below the old record. Three-time World Champion Hackl had set up the track record on February 5, 1995, clocking a time of 49.337 seconds.
Quotes
Dominik Fischnaller
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(ITA / 2013 Junior World Champion)
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“This comes as a complete surprise! It’s unbelievable to achieve a better result than renowned lugers such as Moeller, Loch or Armin Zoeggeler. However, I profited a lot from Armin. He always helped me with his advise.”
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David Moeller
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(GER / 2010 Olympic silver medalist, two-time World Champion)
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“Well, you should always expect the unexpected – but honestly, I’ve never thought to make second place today. So far, German lugers have never been really successful here in Lillehammer - quite the contrary. This is why I’m really pleased about the result. I think that both Felix and I have a good chance to punch the ticket for the Olympic Games.
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Felix Loch
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(GER / 2010 Olympic Champion, 2009, 2009, 2012 and 2013 World Champion, 2013 European Champion, overall Viessmann Luge World Cup winner in 2012-2013)
>br>>br>“I’m absolutely happy that I’ve made the podium, considering that I’ve made this mistake in the first run. Normally, I would have been pleased with a 15th-place finish after such a mistake. Well, I think that David Moeller and I have a bit of an advantage as far as the Olympic Games are concerned.”
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