Canadian Luge Association —Tristan Walker and Justin Snith slide to 13th in doubles action—
KONIGSSEE, Ger.—Canadian teenager Carolyn Maxwell enjoyed a breakthrough performance, finishing 11th at the Luge World Cup on a demanding track in Konigssee, Germany on Saturday.
The 18-year-old rookie on the World Cup circuit held her own against the best names in the world of luge, clocking a two-run time of 1:46.140 on the highly-technical and fast 10-corner track.
“This is a very good result for such a young athlete,” said Wolfgang Staudinger, head coach, Canadian Luge Team. “Carolyn is so young competing against the mothers of our sport, and she put down a top-notch performance.”
Sitting in 15th spot after her first rip down the demanding track that leaves no margin for error, the young Canuck climbed four spots in the standings after cleaning up her second run.
“There is no room for forgiveness on this track,” said Staudinger. “You have to be on the ball and perform. Knowing this, and seeing what Carolyn did, is really good.”
It is Maxwell’s second-best finish of her young career, and top finish outside of Canada. Prior to the holiday break she placed 10th on her home track in Calgary.
“You have to build up gradually with a young athlete, but you need to see signs in development. Carolyn’s result in Calgary, and again here today, is clear signs her tendencies are good and she is starting to make her path. It is long road to the top with lots of ups and downs, but she is exactly where you want a young athlete to be for the long run and is heading in the right direction.”
German’s Julia Taubitz won the women’s race with a time of 1:44.971. American, Summer Britcher, slid to the silver medal at 1:45.391, while Austria’s Hanna Prock punched the clock at 1:45.586 for the bronze.
Canada’s doubles team of Tristan Walker and Justin Snith had a dose of bad luck en route to finishing 13th in the heavy snow race.
The Olympic silver medallists in the team relay broke their straps at the start of the first run, and missed the sled set up for the challenging weather conditions. The Canucks finished with a combined time of 1:43.703.
“It was some bad luck and the guys had the summer tires on the sled when we needed the winter ones today,” said Staudinger. “We slid good, but just weren’t able to react to the conditions.”
Germany’s Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken celebrated the gold medal with a time of 1:41.851. Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt, also of Germany, hung on for the silver medal at 1:42.157. Austria’s Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller won the race for the bronze medal with a time of 1:42.683.
The Luge World Cup continues on Sunday in Konigssee with the men’s singles and team relay races.
Complete Women’s Singles Results: https://www.fil-luge.org/cdn/uploads/rl2wcwomen-26.pdf
Complete Doubles Results: https://www.fil-luge.org/cdn/uploads/rl2wcdoubles-25.pdf
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