Russia and Canada confirm their upward trend
Calgary (pps) After a harmonious Viessmann Luge World Cup event in Whistler the “luge caravan” will now move on to its second stop in Canada in the 2011-2012 season. Following the World Cup on the 2010 Olympic luge track, that presented itself in great condition and well prepared, the next luge competitions will be carried out on the 1988 Olympic track in Calgary.
The première of the “American-Pacific Championships” will be launched within the Viessmann Luge World Cup at the “Canada Olympic Park” (COP) - similar to the European Championships which will be carried out this season in a “race-in-race” competition during the Viessmann Luge World Cup in Paramonovo, Russia.
After the first two World Cup stops in Igls and Whistler the upward trend of both the Canadian and Russian team is quite noticeable. Team Canada claimed the Viessmann Team Relay Event in Igls and a second place at the “dress rehearsal” for the 2013 Worlds on their home track in Whistler. Additionally, World bronze medallist Alex Gough celebrated a third and fourth place, team-mate Sam Edney posted a fifth rank in Whistler. Furthermore there are the successes of Arianne Jones, who achieved two respectable top ten finishes, and of the just 18-years-old Kimberly McRae, who achieved an eleventh place in Whistler.
Russia took two third places in the Team Relay Event and scored two podium finishes thanks to the doubles Vladislav Yuzhakov-Vladimir Makhnutin (10th at the Olympics) who claimed silver in Igls and thanks to the third place of European champion Tatiana Ivanova in Whistler. With the upcoming 2014 Olympic Winter Games in mind, the efforts of the team of coaches that was reinforced last winter by Wolfgang Schaedler of Liechtenstein as well as Germany’s Martin Hillebrand already seem to bear fruit.
Austria is a real power in the doubles with the teams of Andreas Linger-Wolfgang Linger, who won the doubles event in Whistler, as well as Peter Penz-Georg Fischler, who earned the top spot on the podium on their home-track. In the women’s singles the first two events seem to suggest that there will be an exciting duel between Olympic champion Tatjana Huefner and three-time World runner-up Natalie Geisenberger (both GER). And in the men’s singles it seems to be beyond any doubt that Olympic champion Felix Loch (GER) intends to finally interrupt the winning series of Armin Zoeggeler (ITA) in the overall World Cup rankings.
