Winter sports: dampers for German women tobogganists – Eggert/Benecken win again

Three weeks before the start of the winter games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Germany’s Olympic champion Natalie Geisenberger and her women’s luge team have taken a damper. The German two-seater with Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken, on the other hand, underscored his favourites position.

The US-American Summer Britcher surprisingly won at the penultimate World Cup station in Lillehammer, Norway, ahead of the German trio with Geisenberger (Miesbach), Julia Taubitz (Annaberg-Buchholz), who was not nominated for the Olympics, and World Champion Tatjana Huefner (Blankenburg).

The World Champions Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken have confirmed their position as favourites for the two-seaters. The Thuringian duo (Ilsenburg/Suhl) won ahead of the Austrians Peter Penz/Georg Fischler and the Bavarian Olympic champions Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt (Berchtesgaden/Königssee).

“It was relatively hard for me. But I am very, very satisfied. The buzzer drove very cleanly,”Geisenberger told ARD television. At the same time, she admitted:”The fall of Dajana has upset me somewhat.”

Oberhof winner Dajana Eitberger (Ilmenau) crashed towards the end of the second run on the 1994 Olympic track,”She did not get a grip on the sled over the entire run,”said national coach Norbert Loch. With regard to Olympia (9. till 25. February) but he reassured:”I think she is all right. It’s all right.”

After the women’s race, the two-seater races (11.45 and 13.05) are scheduled. On Sunday, the men’s one-seater bobsleigh first (9.15 and 10.55 a. m.), then the sprint competitions (from 12.45 a. m.) take place in all three classes.