WHISTLER, B.C. — Austria's Selina Egle and Lara Michaela Kipp claimed their second straight women's doubles title Friday at the luge world championships in Whistler, B.C.
The pair broke the track record with their first run, speeding down in 38.858 seconds and claiming gold with a two-run time of one minute 17.724 seconds.
"We didn't expect it at all, because it's a start track, and we are not that fast to start, and we were getting into the race with no high expectations," Egle said. "So we are speechless that we won this race today.”
The duo were coming off six straight wins on the World Cup circuit, and won gold in the first-ever mixed doubles world championship on Thursday with teammates Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl.
“I think this season is unbelievable," Egle said. "I think it couldn't go better than this, winning six World Cups in a row and then the world championships. It’s unbelievable. And I think it's a great pre-Olympic season.”
Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal set yet another record with their second run of the day, getting down the track in 38.806 seconds, and finished second with a combined time 0.029 seconds behind the Austrians.
Fellow Germans Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina came in third.
Canadians Beattie Podulsky and Kailey Allen, who hail from Calgary, finished eighth in their first season together.
“I think we've grown a lot as a doubles team," Allen said. "We did our very first two world cups together in Germany, went to Altenberg, and we had some rough runs in those but they were good learning experiences.
"It’s been a really good season to learn together and just with the sport as a whole.”
On the men's side, Hannes Orlamuender and Paul Constantin Gubitz of Germany took gold with a two-run time of 1:16.538.
Latvia's Martins Bots and Roberts Plume finished 0.102 back for the silver medal, and Germany's Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt came in third.
Canada's Devin Wardrope and Cole Anthony Zajanski — both from Calgary — came 12th among the 18 sleds from 10 nations.
“World championships itself is a huge deal, and having it at home, in front of friends and families, puts so much more pressure on you. But it was really fun. We enjoyed it," Wardrope said. "We had a good time, even though the results probably aren't at the spot that we wanted them. We still thought it was a really good race.”
The world championships continue Saturday with the men's singles and team relay races.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2025.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
