YOG dress rehearsal at the 40th Junior European Championships in St. Moritz

St. Moritz (RWH) The natural ice track in St. Moritz is set to host the 40th Junior European Championships of the International Luge Federation (FIL) from 17 to 19 January 2019. Simultaneously, the legendary track will stage the dress rehearsal for the 2020 Olympic Youth Games (YOG) in Lausanne (9 – 22 January 2020), whose luge, skeleton and bobsleigh competitions will be held in St. Moritz.

The YOG programme will feature the women’s doubles for the first time, which is set to experience its Championship debut at the Continental Championships on 18 January. A total of eight titles will be awarded in Youth A and Youth B at the 40th FIL Junior European Championships.

St. Moritz last hosted the FIL Viessmann Luge World Cup in winter 2011/2012. The winners back then were Tatjana Hüfner, Andi Langenhan (both GER) and Andreas Linger/Wolfgang Linger from Austria. Sylke Otto, Jens Müller and Patric Leitner/Alexander Resch (all GER) took victory at the 34th FIL World Championships in St. Moritz in 2000.

The Olympia Bob Run, to give the track its official name, was commissioned in 1904 and is the oldest and the only natural ice track in the world. Every year it is built by hand over a three-week period. Construction of the largest ice sculpture in the world requires around 15,000 cubic metres of snow and 7,000 cubic metres of water. No chemical substances are used.