Canadian Luge Athletes Team Up to Win Bronze Medal at World Cup Relay in Germany
Sam Edney leads Canadians with 15th-place result in men's singles

January 3, 2010 | Chris Dornan | Canadian Luge Association

Canadian Luge Athletes Team Up to Win Bronze Medal at World Cup Relay in Germany

Sam Edney leads Canadians with 15th-place result in men's singles

KÖNIGSSEE, Ger.—Canada's luge athletes continue to prove they can contend with the world's best after winning a bronze medal in the team relay competition at a World Cup in Königssee, Germany on Sunday.

Canada’s team consisting of Calgary's Alex Gough, Sam Edney and brother tandem of Chris and Mike Moffat, put the maple leaf on the podium for the third straight time in the relay event this season after combining to post a time of two minutes 39.077 seconds. The trio of Canadian sleds teamed up to win the gold medal in the first relay of the season in Austria, and bronze in their final World Cup stop prior to the holiday break in Altenberg, Germany.

We had another good performance in the relay and our times were right there with the leading nations where we need to be, said Wolfgang Staudinger, head coach, Canadian Luge Team, who believes the team relay will be added to the Olympic lineup in the near future.

The team competition consists of one female, one male and one doubles team, who each complete one run for a combined final time. In an effort to make the event more exciting for the teams and spectators, the FIL introduced the relay-type system that had the athletes hitting a pad at the finish, which in turn opens the gate at the start for the next team member. Strategy comes into play as the coaches communicate over radio to make sure the next athlete is ready to go as soon as the get opens.

"This is very important measuring stick for us because it demonstrates the overall performance of a nation, and we are always right in the hunt for the medals in the team event," said Wolfgang Staudinger earlier this year. "I put a lot of stake in measuring our split times in this event and see where we stack up. Again, this result shows we are capable of doing great things."

The powerful German luge athletes finished on top of the podium with a time of 2:38.302, while the Austrians were second at 2:39.077

Earlier in the day, the Canadian men also participated in the World Cup singles race under difficult track conditions.

Calgary's Sam Edney finished as the top Canadian after clocking a 15th-place time of 1:35.336. Ian Cockerline, also of Calgary, was 19th at 1:36.016. Jeff Christie did not finish.

Russia's Albert Demtschenko captured the first gold medal of 2010 after stopping the clock at 1:34.176. Italy's Armin Zöggeler slid to the silver medal position after clocking in at 1:34.549, while Germany's David Möller thrilled the hometown crowd with a bronze medal finish, crossing the line with a time of 1:34.640.

The Canadian Luge Team will now head to Winterberg, Germany for World Cup races, January 9-10, 2010.

The Canadian Luge Association is the governing body for luge racing in Canada. The Canadian Luge Association is responsible for developing our nation's high-performance luge athletes and promoting the sport across the country. For more information on the Canadian Luge Association, please visit us at www.luge.ca

Complete Results: www.fil-luge.org

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Chris Dornan
Media and Public Relations
Canadian Luge Association
T: 281-703-4394