The luge world champions Toni Eggert/Sascha Benecken have confirmed their claim to gold at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang in Oberhof. Meanwhile, the ladies have rushed to their next one-two-three win.
The doubles from Thuringia won their home World Cup on Saturday and relegated the Olympic champions Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt to second place. Robin Geueke/David Gamm finished fourth behind Peter Penz and Georg Fischler from Austria.
“It’s nice to have finally won again in our living room,”said Eggert, who last landed at the front of the field with his partner on the home track in 2014. After the first run Wendl/Arlt led on Saturday, and in the end seven thousandths of a second made the difference in favour of Eggert/Benecken.
“As long as it remains so close between the two sides, I don’t care who lands in the lead,” said national coach Norbert Loch:”If they rub against each other like they do today, it’s the best preparation for the Olympics.
In the first half of the season, Wendl/Arlt had been beaten considerably, but in 2018 they will present themselves in a stronger form:”There are ups and downs in sport, and when you’re in a valley, you have to work harder,”said Norbert Loch:”That’s what the two of them did. I’ve been very hard on them too, and now we’re seeing the result.”
Last weekend Wendl/Arlt won their home race at the Königssee in front of Eggert/Benecken. Four weeks before the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, the people of Thuringia, who could hardly be defeated before the turn of the year, fought back.
On Saturday, Dajana Eitberger won the women’s race ahead of Olympic champion Natalie Geisenberger and world champion Tatjana Huefner. Hüfner made a strong comeback after an injury to the lower leg.
“Dajana was the better one today,”said Geisenberger, World Cup leader and gold medallist at the Pyeongchang Games:”The three of us don’t give each other anything, it’s nice to be on the podium together. Any one of us can win at any time.”
Eitberger was relieved after the success in her homeland and said,”I was often unhappy last time around,” she said:”With all the noise and impressions, it’s getting harder and harder for me to get into the tunnel.
Jessica Tiebel only finished ninth after a mistake in the second run, but she finished fourth after the first run. Last weekend, the German women had already started the new year with a triple success at the Königssee World Cup.
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