Canadian Luge Association—Mitch Malyk posts back-to-back 12th place finishes in men’s singles—

ALTENBERG, Ger.— Tristan Walker and Justin Snith are ending the season on a high note, narrowly missing the podium with a fifth-place finish on Saturday at a World Cup luge doubles race in Altenberg, Germany.

Struggling to find their way near the top of the international standings – a place they comfortably owned two years ago, Canada’s most successful luge tandem are back where they belong challenging for the medals over the last two weeks. The two Canadians teamed up to match their best result of the season with a fifth-place time of 1:23.738.

Walker, of Cochrane, Alta., and Calgary’s Snith enjoyed a breakthrough performance last week when they were in the medal mix at the World Championships before making a costly mistake on their second run dropping them to eighth. They came back out the following day and led the Canadians to a bronze medal in the team relay.

Germany’s Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken won the doubles race with a time of 1:22.890. Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt, also of Germany, were second at 1:23.269. Austria’s Peter Penz and Georg Fischler posted the third fastest times in each of their two runs to secure the bronze medal at 1:23.471.

Speaking of strong performances, Canada’s Mitch Malyk proved his 12th place finish last week was no fluke. The 20-year-old Calgarian continued to take a huge step forward his development, matching his World Championship finish with a time of 1:48.392.

 World Champion, Felix Loch of Germany, was the man to beat once again, clocking a golden time of 1:47.556. Russia’s Roman Repilov slid into the silver medal position on the podium at 1:47.885, while American Chris Mazdzer locked up the bronze after punching the clock at 1:47.902.

The World Cup continues on Sunday in Altenberg, Germany with the women’s singles and team relay race.

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.

COMPLETE RESULTS: www.fil-luge.org

Doubles Top-Five and Canadian Results:

1. Wendl/Arlt, GER, 1:22.890; 2. Wendl/Arlt, GER, 1:23.269; 3. Panz/Penz, AUT, 1:23.471; 4. Oberstolz/Gruber, 1:23.719; 5. Walker, Cochrane, Alta./Snith, Calgary, CAN, 1:23.738

Men’s Top-Five and Canadian Results:

1.Felix Loch, GER, 1:47.556; 2. Roman Repilov, RUS, 1:47.885; 3. Chris Mazdzer, USA, 1:47.902; 4. Ralf Palik, GER, 1:47.928; 5. Wolfgang Kindl, AUT, 1:47.938

Canadian Results:

12. Mitch Malyk, Calgary, 1:48.392

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Chris Dornan

Media and Public Relations

Canadian Luge Association

T: 403-620-8731