Cochrane luger Tristan Walker and doubles teammate Justin Snith of Calgary are going down fast with the Olympics right around the corner. The luge duo won bronze in the World Cup doubles event Jan. 4 at Konigssee, Germany, before teaming up with singles sliders Alex Gough and Samuel Edney to take the team-relay silver Jan. 5, just a month ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
Walker and Snith’s bronze was the first-ever medal for Canada in the World Cup luge doubles event.
After finishing fourth four times this season, including at the 2013 World Championships, Walker and Snith finally broke through to win a World Cup doubles luge medal after clocking a two-run time of one minute, 40.709 seconds.
“It is awesome, and especially to do it here in Konigssee which is a home-away-from-home for us,” said Walker. “We spend a lot of time here, and it is always the first place we go to after Christmas. I had a feeling when we’d finally do it that it would be either here or in Canada. It was pretty tense watching the splits come down the track. Standing in the leaders box it was a feeling of relief and excitement.”
The Canadian duo sat in fourth place after the first trip down the Konigssee track. In a sport that demands consistency, the 22-year-old Alberta sliders clocked nearly identical times at 50.359 and 50.350 down the 11-corner track.
“It was a fantastic day for our team and a rock-solid week,” said Wolfgang Staudinger, head coach of the Canadian Luge Team, who was recruited to the Canadian program nearly eight years ago from the Germany program. Staudinger hails from Konigssee. “The doubles finally did it. They were overdue. To be fourth over and over again, you know it is just a matter of time and great to see it happen. Wow – it was a great day for us!”
