Wendl–Arlt again win home World Championships

Königssee (RWH)   Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt are unbeatable on their home track in Königssee (GER). The Olympic Champions and current European Champions successfully defended their title at the 46th International Luge Federation (FIL) World Championships, winning the third World Championship gold of their career. Just the day before the duo had already come out top in the first ever FIL Sprint World Championships. The flower ceremony was led by Dr Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIL President Josef Fendt.

The silver medal went to Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken of Germany, with Italy’s Christian Oberstolz and Patrick Gruber collecting bronze. It was unfortunate that the season highlight saw Peter Penz and Georg Fischler of Austria botch the first heat and thus miss the deciding second run, which is raced by the best 18 duos. The 2015 World Championship silver medallists have been a model of consistency so far this season, with a podium finish in eight of the nine Viessmann World Cups to date.

In their third World Championship victory after 2013 and 2015, Wendl–Arlt bettered their own home track record (49.749 seconds) by almost four tenths of a second to 49.311 seconds in the first run. This is an eternity in the luge, the only winter Olympic sport to be measured in thousands of a second.

The World Champions in the men’s singles will be decided on Sunday, 31 January 2016 at 10.15 am. The 46th FIL World Championships close with the team relay, which starts at 2.00 pm.

Quotes

Tobias Wendl (GER / 2014 Olympic Champion, 2013, 2015 and 2016 World Champion, and 2015 European Champion)

“World Champion at home: that’s almost as good as our Olympic victory. I was really relaxed after the first run, and was completely calm going into the second heat.”

Toni Eggert (GER / 2012 and 2013 World Championship runner-up, overall Viessmann World Cup winner in 2014/2015)

“It’s amazing, I’m lost for words. This makes up a bit for the disqualification in the sprint.”

Christian Oberstolz (ITA / World Championship bronze in 2015, European Champion in 2014)

“We wouldn’t have expected this in our wildest dreams. Now we have to consider our next move. After all, we’ve been racing in the World Cup for 17 years.”