Canadian Luge Association —Carolyn Maxwell leads two Canadian women’s sleds into top-15—
LAKE PLACID, N.Y.—Olympic veterans, Tristan Walker and Justin Snith, led three Canadians sleds into the top-15 at the Luge World Cup in Lake Placid, New York on Saturday.
Calgary’s Walker and Snith had their best finish of the young season with a seventh-place finish in doubles action.
The 28-year-olds found their consistency on the icy chute that winds down Mount Van Hoevenberg while clocking a two-run time of 1:28.305.
“That was a good step forward for the doubles team. They managed expectations today and focused on two clean runs,” said Sam Edney, high-performance manager, Luge Canada. “Now they can start to push the limits on the sled a bit and fight for more. This was a good confidence builder for them.”
The Germans grabbed the top-two spots on the doubles podium for the second-straight week. Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt clocked a golden time of 1:27.317. Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken finished a fraction of a second off the leading mark in second at 1:27.501. Austria’s Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller posted a third-place time of 1:27.513.
A trio of Canadian teenagers hit the start handles for the women’s singles race.
Calgary’s Carolyn Maxwell matched her career-best World Cup finish on non-Canadian ice with an 11th-place result. The 19-year-old rocketed down the 1980 Olympic Track in a combined time of 1:28.376.
“That was a big improvement from last year,” said Maxwell, who was 23rd in her rookie year on Lake Placid Ice. “I was able to put down two consistent runs that I’m satisfied with. The next step is to really get comfortable on my sled and push for position, especially on these technically demanding tracks.
“This is a good steppingstone leading into next week in Whistler. I’m looking forward to racing on a home track where I feel I can really prove my potential on.”
Fellow Canadian teenager, Trinity Ellis of Pemberton, B.C., also cracked the top-15 for the second-straight week. The 17-year-old World Cup rookie, who was eighth in the season-opener, dropped from 11th to 14th place overall in her second run, finishing with a two-run time of 1:28.557.
Calgary’s Makena Hodgson matched her career-best World Cup finish while sliding to her age in 19th-place at 1:29.212.
Germany’s Julia Taubitz stormed to the top of the women’s podium at 1:27.484. American Emily Sweeney thrilled the hometown crowd with a silver-medal run at 1:27.551. Russia’s Viktoriia Demchenko posted the third-fastest time in each run to secure the bronze medal with a time of 1:27.706.
The World Cup continues on Sunday in Lake Placid with the men’s singles and sprint race.
Complete Doubles Results: https://www.fil-luge.org/cdn/uploads/rl2wcdoubles-30.pdf
Complete Women’s Singles Results: https://www.fil-luge.org/cdn/uploads/rl2wcwomen-30.pdf
The Canadian Luge Association is a not-for-profit organization responsible for governing the sport of luge across the country. With the financial backing of from the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium, the Canadian Luge Association safely recruits and develops the nation’s current and future high-performance luge athletes with the goal of regularly climbing onto the international podium. For more information on the Canadian Luge Association, please visit us at www.luge.ca on the Internet.
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