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2018 Olympic Luge Preview

Olympic Luge

In late December, it appeared Canadian lugers were getting an early Christmas present. On December 22, it was announced that Team Canada would win a bronze medal in mixed relay luge from the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi because the Russians were stripped of their silver medal due to the doping scandal.

However, on February 1, Albert Demchenko and Tatiana Ivanova successfully appealed their doping violations and lifetime ban with the Court of Arbitration for Sport and their silver medal was restored. The CAS decision meant once again Canada would finish fourth. There was significant outrage with CAS decision, which positively impacted 39 Russian athletes from four years ago.

Now it will be interesting to analyze the psyche of the Canadian lugers. Never before has Canada earned an Olympic medal in luge and it appears many of the Canadian lugers who came so close to reaching the podium four years ago, will have another opportunity at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

2018 Olympic Luge Preview

Canada’s best chance is simply in mixed relay luge. Team Canada finished third in the 2017-18 World Cup standings, and will possibly have the same team that finished fourth four years ago. The team, which all hails from Calgary, are Sam Edney in men’s luge, Alex Gough in women’s luge (possibly Kimberley McRae of Victoria), and Tristan Walker and Justin Snith in men’s doubles luge.

Of the six World Cup events in team mixed relay luge, Team Canada twice finished in second place–in World Cups in Calgary and Innsbruck. They will still face tough tests from Germany, Austria and Latvia.

Women’s Luge

In women’s luge, Canada will be led by Gough and McRae. Gough is a veteran luger who will probably retire after this season to focus on her engineering career. McRae is the newer kid on the block, and at age 25, is five years younger than Gough.

But at the 2017 World Luge Championships, it was McRae that landed on the podium. She won the bronze medal, narrowly beating out American Summer Britcher by .035 seconds. Still, you cannot count out Gough, who is a two-time World Championship bronze medalist herself. Gough has been a little more consistent than McRae during the World Cup circuit, but struggled in the Pyeongchang World Cup last February and only finished 14th.

Men’s Luge

Unlike Gough, Sam Edney had great success in men’s luge at the Pyeongchang World Cup. He won the bronze medal at the World Cup in Pyeongchang, and then won the silver medal at a World Cup in Calgary this season. In Pyeongchang, Edney was faster than reigning World Champion Wolfgang Kindl of Austria and the consistent Johannes Ludwig of Germany.

In men’s doubles luge, Walker and Snith, like Edney in men’s luge, have an outside chance of reaching the Olympic podium. They had one podium finish, which was a bronze medal in Lake Placid in mid-December. However, they are more consistent in the top 10 in the standings rather than contending for a podium position.

Germany has dominated Olympic luge over the years. Between Germany and East Germany, they have won 60 medals. The next closest nation is Austria with 19 medals. At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Germany is once again expected to dominate. The German women could sweep the Olympic podium and Felix Loch is the favourite to win his third consecutive Olympic gold medal in men’s luge.

Men’s Luge Predictions:
GOLD–Felix Loch–Germany
SILVER–Wolfgang Kindl–Austria
BRONZE–Dominik Fischnaller–Italy
Event: Run 1–Feb. 10 @ 5:10 am ET/2:10 am PT; Run 2–Feb. 10 @ 6:55 am ET/3:55 am PT; Run 3–Feb. 11 @ 4:50 am ET/1:50 am PT; Run 4–Feb. 11 @ 6:55 am ET/3:55 am PT.

Men’s Doubles Luge Predictions:
GOLD–Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken–Germany
SILVER–Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt–Germany
BRONZE–Robin Johannes Geueke /David Gamm–Germany
Event: Run 1–Feb. 14 @ 6:20 am ET/3:20 am PT; Run 2–Feb. 14 @ 7:40 am ET/4:40 am PT. 

Women’s Luge Predictions:
GOLD–Natalie Geisenberger–Germany
SILVER–Tatjana Huefner–Germany
BRONZE–Dajana Eitberger–Germany
Event: Run 1–Feb. 12 @ 5:50 am ET/2:50 am PT; Run 2–Feb. 12 @ 7:15 am ET/4:15 am PT; Run 3–Feb. 13 @ 5:30 am ET/2:30 am PT; Run 4–Feb. 13 @ 7:15 am ET/4:15 am PT. 

Team Relay Luge Predictions:
GOLD–Germany
SILVER–Austria
BRONZE–Latvia
Event: Feb. 15 @ 7:30 am ET/4:30 am PT 

 

Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images

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